Ganzi Muhanguzi
18 November 2008
Kampala — DISABLED people form the largest single group facing chronic poverty in the world, according to a report by the World Vision.
The report, which was part of a training manual developed to sensitise Ugandans about the plight of disabled people, also reveals that about 2.4 million disabled Ugandans live in object poverty.
Speaking at its launch on Thursday, the MP for people with disabilities, Alex Ndeezi, said the manual would be used to improve on the status of the disabled.
"Many people collect information and call themselves experts when they actually have no experience," the MP said.
About three million Ugandans are said to be disabled, 80% of them illiterate and poor.
The World Vision's advocacy manager, Elizabeth Rukundo, said the disabled were denied equal access to education, health and other basic needs.
"Impairment usually leads to discrimination when funding income generating activities," she said.
Disabled women, Rukundo said, were more vulnerable to violence, sexual abuse and lack of support, adding that even the campaign against HIV/AIDS was discriminative of the disabled.
"All we have are billboards. Where are the brails for the blind people to read and access the same information?" she asked. The chairman of the parliamentary budgetary committee, Wiliam Okecho, said disabled people were marginalised in budgetary allocations.
"The constitution provided for the establishment of an Equal Opportunities Commission, but this has never been effected until now," he said.
He, however, said that upon its inception earlier this year, sh2.1b had been allocated for its operations.
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