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Govt asked to prioritise PWDs on Covid jabs
MADIPHA executive director Mr Richard Musisi together with other PWDs at Bulange, Mengo, Kampala on May 3 ,2021. PHOTO/FILE/WILSON KUTAMBA/
What you need to know:
- Health ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona said due to the limited vaccines, they cannot consider all groups of people.
People with Disabilities (PWDs) have asked government to give them priority in the next vaccination phase against Covid-19.
Ms Deborah Nakayenga, the Wakiso District representative for PWDs, said they were left out in the last vaccination exercise, and yet in the current one, priority is being given to those due for the second dose.
“PWDs need to be prioritised because they need special care in their daily lives and if they are not considered in such exercises, it means that majority will continue to face hardships,” she told journalists in Kampala yesterday.
Ms Nakayenga added that whereas the second phase of the vaccination targets the most vulnerable population age groups and essential workers, PWDs have not been recognised in this age group.
“This is a threat to our lives and we are to be left further behind because even without Covid-19, PWDs have been challenged in accessing health services,” she said.
Mr Israel Ssekamatte, the director of African Dream Initiative (ADI), said government information about vaccination campaign should be inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities such as the deaf and blind to enable them take part in the exercise.
“If the government is to recognise PWDs, it should also recognise their support networks such as the guides and helpers so as to have access to the vaccination because they are their immediate contacts,” he said.
Mr Martin Ssenoga, the programmes manager of National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), also said there is an urgent need to prioritise PWDs in the vaccination programme.
“As NUDIPU, we have embarked on a survey to establish the number of PWDs who are still left out of the vaccination programme, and we expect the exercise to take three to four months,” he said.
PWDs stranded
Mr Jaffer Ssenganda, a councillor for PWDs, said many of their stranded colleagues have been approaching them as leaders for help on how they can be vaccinated.
“When PWDs are infected with the virus, they are more likely to develop more severe symptoms and they are also at risk of contracting the virus due to existing health conditions and contact with their support system of the guides,” he said.
When contacted, Health ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona said due to the limited vaccines, they cannot consider all groups of people.
“There is deliberate effort to reconsider vulnerable people who were not included in the priority group at first, and the PWDs will be among them,” he said.
Mr Ainebyoona added that some PWDs who are essential workers are set to receive the jabs in the current phase.
