____________________

To make sure that the needs of those who are visually impaired are met, Uganda has launched the citizen's guide to the budget in both braille and visual formats.

Speaking during the launch of the citizen’s guide to the budget for the 2023-2024 financial year at the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development on Thursday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Chief Social Policy, Moses Sichei, applauded Uganda for her unwavering commitment to ensuring that every citizen has equal access to vital information, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, through the development of their very first audio/visual version of the citizen’s guide to the budget for FY 2023-2024.

(L-R) Tumwebaze Patrick ED Uganda Debt Network, Assistant Commissioner Budget Policy Tagoole Ali, Paul Mwanja Commissioner Infrastructure and Social Services department, Khasalamwa Brenda Brail proof reader Uganda National Association of the blind, Moses Sichei Chief Social Policy ay UNICEF and other civil society officials pose for a picture. This was after launch of the braille and audio/visual versions of the citizen’s guide to the budget FY 2023/2024 by UNICEF and ministry of finance and economic development on April 4, 2024

Sichei said this development is a testament to the government's interest in ensuring that citizens understand and appreciate the annual national budget and all processes involved.

“It provides an opportunity for citizens and other stakeholders to continue participating in subsequent national budget cycles at national but also lower levels in their communities, an approach critical to the realisation of the 2030 Agenda,” he said.

He said that when citizens are equipped with correct and relevant information, they are empowered to ask critical questions, which will help facilitate and strengthen the processes of allocation of national resources at all levels and across all sectors.

“The production of the Braille and audio/visual formats of the Citizen’s Guide to the National Budget for FY2023-2024 is a collaborative effort aimed at fostering inclusivity.

I am glad to share that this is the first initiative supported by UNICEF in 21 countries in the East and Southern Africa Region, placing Uganda as the leader in support of access to information by the visually and hearing-impaired members of our society,” he said.

Khasalamwa Brenda Brail proof reader Uganda National Association of the blind receives a copy of the braille format of the citizen’s guide to the budget FY 2023/2024 from Paul Mwanja Commissioner Infrastructure and Social Services department at the ministry of finance planning and economic development

He said individuals with disabilities have faced countless barriers to accessing information and services, often leading to marginalisation and social exclusion.

“Today, more bold steps are being taken to break down these barriers and foster a truly inclusive society,” he said, adding that children bear the worst of the challenges as they cannot easily access essential social services, including health and education, though they all continue to possess a spirit and determination that knows no bounds.

“Uganda has a disability prevalence of 16 percent among children, and enrolment is very low in schools, with only 1.97 percent of the total enrolment in primary schools for the year 2023 being children with disabilities.

This needs urgent action to ensure adequate staffing with the right skills so that children attend school and more inclusive classrooms to accommodate children with disabilities to allow them to enjoy learning and the school facilities like all schoolchildren.

For example, we see that in some schools, learners with autism are sharing classes with deaf learners, making it difficult to cater to the needs of such children,” he said.

In Uganda, there are two million people with visual impairments, but only 200,000 of them can read, according to Khasalamwa Brenda, a brail-proof reader at the Uganda National Association of the Blind and the Uganda National Association of the Deaf.

"The Citizen's Guide should be available in braille and audio-visual formats, but most members' illiteracy levels will prevent them from reading them," she stated.

Carol Namagembe, the deputy executive director at the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), asked the government to allocate resources towards improving access to education for people with disabilities.

Paul Mwanja, the Commissioner of Finance and Planning, who represented Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to Treasury, Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, said the launch of the braille and audio-visual versions of the Citizen's Guide to the Budget FY 2023–24 is yet another milestone in promoting transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness.

“In promoting these tenets, the focus has been on increasing access to budget information, enhancing awareness and publicity for the National Budget, promoting citizen participation in the budget process, and fostering oversight and demand for accountability,” he said.