Ugandan MP, Ndeezi hails EAC on PWD issues

Ugandan MP representing Persons With Disability (PWDs) and president of African Union of the Deaf (AUD), Alex Ndeezi has hailed EAC Secretariat and the regional assembly for the efforts they have made towards mainstreaming and advocating for issues pertaining to PWDs.

He described the (East African Community) as the leading regional bloc in Africa that has implemented a number of advocacy initiatives and policies touching on PWDs.

A delegation from AUD led by Ndeezi and the Africa Disability Alliance (ADA) led by its Chief Executive Officer,  Andrew. K. Dube on Thursday made a fact-finding tour of the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. ADA is based in South Africa.

The purpose of the tour was to sensitise the EAC Secretariat on the mandate of AUD and ADA, in addition to learning about the EAC's Social policy and disability legislative frameworks, according to information from Arusha issued today (Friday).

Ndeezi said AUD was looking forward to supporting EAC's initiatives PWDs at a technical or financial level in the near future and promised further engagements in various fora to push the PWDs mainstreaming agenda both at the regional, continental and international level. 

Receiving the delegation on behalf of the EAC Secretary was the Principal Gender and Community Development Officer,  Generose Minani, who assured them that the EAC would work closely with them in advocating for the welfare of PWDs.

Minani disclosed that EAC Partners States have put in place policies to mainstream disability concerns at both the national and regional level.

"The EAC recognizes the need to empower Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in line with the provisions of Article 120(c) of the treaty that calls upon partner states to co-operate amongst themselves in the field of social welfare with respect to, among others, the development and adoption of a common approach towards disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including children, the youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities through rehabilitation and provision of, among others, foster homes, healthcare, education and training," she said.

"Other milestones that have been realized within the PWDs docket include the EAC Policy on PWDs which was adopted in March 2012. The policy is a yardstick to inform other policies, programmes and sectoral plans among the EAC Partner States. The EAC policy on PWDs aims at the provision of an enabling environment by Partner States for the empowerment of PWDs to facilitate their effective participation in and their eventual benefit from development initiatives,". said Minani.

AUD is a continental organization, which was established to serve as an umbrella organization for the Deaf on the African Continent. Deaf African activists who attended the African Disability Consultative Workshop in South Africa in 2003 founded AUD.

AUD works with regional and international organizations like the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), the Africa Disability Forum (ADF) and ADA as cooperating partners to address deafness and disability rights issues continentally and internationally.

Through this effective partnership with Continental Disability Peoples Organizations, AUD works with the AU in which it is seeking observer status as well as consultative status within AU appointed bodies and agencies concerned with disability issues.

AUD advocates for the interests of member organizations on the African continent. The first Constitution was approved in Tanzania on 10 May 2014. AUD has been legally registered in Uganda and currently hosted by Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD) in Kiwanga-Mukono.