The government has committed to increasing the number of university scholarships for people with disabilities (PWDs) from 64 to 320 per year in the next three years through the education ministry. 

In a statement released yesterday, December 3, 2022, Vice-President Jessica Alupo said the scholarships will be in addition to the existing merit and general district quota-based affirmative action measures. 

 Alupo made the pledge while presiding over the International Day of PWDs celebrations in Kole district on Saturday 

She added that the Government was taking a look at the status of PWDs with the aim of improving their lives as she cited some of their challenges including the lack of participation in decision-making, poverty and the lack of access to information and social services. 

She explained that the National Resistance Movement party government had to deal with these issues as part of the struggle of liberating different special interest groups from deep-rooted injustices.  

One action the Government has implemented for PWDs was to institute councils for PWDs in all key decision-making positions from the village level up to the Parliament.  

Alupo also said Uganda has become the 13^th country globally to have a braille version of the Constitution.   

On completion rates in education, she said there were comparatively low completion rates among PWDs at all levels, which need to be addressed.  

She added that there was a need to subsidise households for PWDs on the cost of accessing surgeries and other services through a child disability grant. 

“I support the ministry of gender to ensure that we pilot the child disability grant if the studies confirm that it is feasible,” she said.  

The theme for this year's celebration is Leadership and Mind-set Change: A Tool for Inclusive Development. 

The event saw the launch of the Revised National Policy of PWDs, the Audio-visual version of the PWDs Act, the Braille version of the 1995 Ugandan Constitution, and the comprehensive report on the albinism situation.  

She expressed the commitment by the Government to provide for meaningful inclusion of leaders of PWDs in mind-set change and ideological training. 

On the trainings, she said over 300 leaders of PWDs from east and central Uganda were capacitated and exposed to various skills including handling the gun.  

She assured the disability fraternity that the PWDs frameworks pending approval, such as the Country’s periodic report on the UN convention, the Inclusive Education Policy and the rehabilitation strategy, will be prioritised for approval when they reach Cabinet. 

She challenged leaders for PWDS at all levels to get their priorities right and to support the Government in the journey of meaningful inclusion of PWDs.  

“You are duty bound to mobilise and sensitise PWDs around the development programmes initiated by the Government. This will enable PWDs to join the money economy and attain sustainable livelihoods,” Alupo said.