UBOS, gender ministry to harmonise gaps in PWDs data

__________________

The gender ministry and Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) are working to address gaps in the available data on persons living with disabilities (PWDs).

On Tuesday (May 6, 2025), both the ministry and the statistics agency confirmed that a nationwide survey — the Uganda Disability Survey (UDS 2025) — will start next month to help fill data gaps missed by the 2024 National Housing and Population Census.

According to the ministry, data collection will take between two to three months starting in June, with the final report expected in December this year.

The Government says there is an urgent need for adequate data and information on the living conditions of PWDs, covering the different disability categories as specified in the Persons with Disabilities Act CAP115.

The Act categorises disabilities as physical, sensory, intellectual and mental health.

The disability state minister, Hellen Asamo, said there is a great need to update statistics on PWDs at national and sub-national levels to inform national, regional and international commitments on disability.

She made the remarks during the sensitisation and dissemination of the census data on disability in Uganda, held at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala. The event was attended by representatives and advocates from the PWDs community.

“The UDS, therefore, is aimed at gathering essential data on a wide range of disability-related issues, including health, education, inclusion, vulnerability, resilience, participation, justice, social protection, household wealth, rights and freedoms, access to goods and services, and public awareness,” Asamo noted.

According to the 2024 census results, 5.5 million (13.2%) Ugandans live with various disabilities, with over 3 million of these being female and 2.4 million male.

UBOS, in its account of PWDs, considered persons aged two years and above — a point of contention among disability advocates, who question how planning will be made for PWDs below the age of two, who were excluded from the count.

Of the 5.5 million, the census revealed that 1.7 million live with significant difficulty and are unable to function independently.

Regionally, Lango has the highest prevalence of people with disabilities at 17.4%, while Kampala has the lowest at 8.7%.

According to UBOS, 2.3 million people out of the 5.5 million have multiple disabilities — 1.3 million are female and over 962,000 male.

“Friends, data is very important in our advocacy for the well-being of persons with disability. Let us help this survey succeed,” said PWDs legislator Alex Ndeezi.

Ndeezi, who initially criticised the census data on PWDs, added: “At first time when we got the census information, we had some issues with you (UBOS). But we are happy and we are thankful that you corrected accordingly, and we are ready to support the survey.”

UBOS clarified that the survey beginning in June is not designed to estimate the prevalence of disability but to understand the issues affecting persons with disabilities and how they can best be supported.

“The main objective of the UDS 2025 is to provide policymakers with information on disability status for effective evidence-based policy formulation, monitoring, planning and programming for current and future interventions,” said Helen Namirembe Nviiri, Director of Population and Social Statistics at UBOS.

Namirembe said the final results, expected in December, will provide data at national and sub-regional levels, enabling estimates for different categories of disability based on social, demographic and economic characteristics.

The census also indicated that over 78,000 people live with albinism, over 194,000 are little persons, 44,000 are deaf, 30,000 are blind, and more than 69,000 are both blind and deaf.

The final results of the census conducted between May 9–19, 2024, were released in December of the same year and put Uganda’s population at 45.9 million.

“We are happy that at least some of the things that we advocated for were captured by the census. However, there are things that really need to be addressed. For example, all PWDs were counted from the age of two years, which means someone from one day to one year and 11 months was not counted, meaning that these children are not known by the Government and are left out in planning,” said Joel Kawanguzi from the Foundation of Persons Affected by Dwarfism.

The census went on to reveal that more than 179,000 people were epileptic, a similar number are living with autism, about 184,000 have Down syndrome, 357,000 are affected by spina bifida, and 655,000 suffer from cerebral palsy.

On mental health, the census disclosed that around 7.8% of the population have probable depressive disorder, 12% show signs of general psychological distress, 4% are probable victims of bipolar affective disorder, 3.8% suffer probable anxiety disorder, 1.9% show signs of probable psychosis, and 0.9% live with probable suicidality.

It further indicated that Teso sub-region has the highest prevalence of mental health disorders at 16.4%, while Ankole has the lowest at 8.8%.

UBOS added that the upcoming survey will also assess the challenges faced by households with persons with disabilities, levels of access to social services (education, health, rehabilitation, assistive devices, among others), and gather stakeholders’ views on how to address those challenges.

Prosper Muhumuza, Commissioner in charge of disabilities at the gender ministry, said the country has long struggled with issues around the disability register.

“We have had challenges as civil society, as the ministry, when we go to NIRA (National Identification Registration Authority). When you are registering Ugandans, please put an identifier for persons with disabilities, because that's the only way they can access services easily. That is the only way that the government will do affirmative action easily,” Muhumuza said.

He also expressed concern that some institutions continue to define disability from a position of ignorance.

“This demands our advocacy. We need to speak louder that persons with disabilities deserve better. In light of the fact that NIRA is running away from the responsibility of assigning or giving an identifier on our national IDs, we now want Uganda Bureau of Statistics to take on the mantle,” he said.