Youths with disabilities primed for inclusivity in formulation of national policies

Young people in the Mukono District have been availed a programme that will provide them training in the fundamental values of leadership, knowing the law, providing services, and lobbying for their communities to a section of their representatives chosen from five sub-counties.

The underlying common sentiment is that a large number of persons with disabilities are left behind in leadership positions, government initiatives, and community projects due to their disabilities, lack of education, and ignorance of how these initiatives operate.
 
TAHI Uganda, the implementing entity, will map and identify young people with disabilities aged 18–24 who have the potential and ability to influence change by collaborating with various structures, such as disability councils/networks and local leadership structures.
 
An evaluation of these youth will be conducted to determine their capacity, comprehension of disability inclusion, and preparedness for community service.
 
A total of 50 transformation agents will be chosen, with 25 in each of the districts of Wakiso and Mukono, to target at least five sub-counties or divisions each in the mapping exercise.
 
The Mukono District representatives chose Ntunda, Seeta Namugongo, Nagojje, Kimenyede, and Kasaawo during a stakeholder engagement on Monday at their headquarters because of the large number of youth with disabilities there.
 
Mr Godfrey Nkunda, the chairperson of the Mukono District council for persons with disabilities, said are left behind in legal and health development initiatives.
 
"We have deaf people for example, but hospitals do not have sign language interpreters. You discover that pregnant women's hospitals do not have adjustable beds, and there are no sign language interpreters on police; the same is true in courts," he said on Monday during an engagement at the district headquarters.
 
According to Mr Nkunda, this perception even causes the disabled to be left behind in business affairs, in perception of vulnerability.
 
"Stigmatisation in society is another challenge. The absence of brails and the lack of wheels prevent the visually impaired from studying in schools as well," he added.
 
The Chief Administrative Officer of Mukono District, Ms Elizabeth Namanda, stated through a representative, Ms Turyasasirwa Edith, that this programme would supplement the Parish Development Model (PDM), an initiative of the government to help communities escape poverty.
 
"Impairment does not equal to disability. What matters to society can still be made by them. For example, many of our young people have a bad attitude towards government programmes. That is the part where they need assistance. Peer groups cause us to lose them," she said.
 
By moving 39 percent of households from a subsistence economy to a money economy, as approved by Parliament, the PDM is a service delivery strategy used by the Ugandan government to improve household incomes and welfare for all Ugandans.
 
The results of this strategy will be measurable in the 2024/2025 financial year at the conclusion of the third National Development Plan (NDP III).