1. At The DISABILITY INCLUSIVE MEETING
PRESENTATION OF WORK BY MINISTRY OF GENDER, LABOUR AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON DISABILITY
At The DISABILITY INCLUSIVE MEETING
BY B.N.KAGGYA
Assistant Commissioner, Disability and Elderly, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development

2. Lay out Introduction Current Situation
Inclusive Legal and policy frameworks on disability
Current Programs and Linkage to SDGs and CRPD
Challenges and Way forward

3. Current situation
The Government through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has the mandate to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDS), among others.
According to the Uganda Population and Housing Census (UPHC) Report of 2002, four percent of Ugandans had a disability. The Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) Report 2009/10 estimated 16.2% of Ugandans with disabilities and according to UPHC (2014), 12.5% of Ugandan Population are persons with disabilities giving a figure of approximately 4.3 million Ugandans with disabilities

4. Current Situation
National Policy on Disability in Uganda(2006)Framework for intervention
Persons with Disabilities are vulnerable due to negative societal attitudes, institutional and environmental barriers
As result, they receive less education and skills training which reduces their employment opportunities and even qualified ones rarely get employed;
Major concerns of persons with disabilities are poverty, lack of education and skills, Limited Employment Opportunities, health, inaccessible structures and information, HIV and AIDs, situations of conflicts and emergencies, and in all these age , disability and gender worsens the situations

5. General Inclusive Legal Frameworks Constitution of Uganda
Uganda has demonstrated its commitment to promote and protect the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) through its rich legal, policy and institutional frameworks, starting with the 1995 Constitution.
Objective (xvi) provides for society to recognise the rights of persons with disabilities to respect and human dignity;
Objective xviii- provides for states commitment to afford every citizen equal opportunity to attain the highest education standards possible;
Objective (xxiv)( c) provides for promotion of sign language
Objective 30- provides right to education
Article 32 – provides for affirmative action for groups marginalized groups on basis of age ,gender and disability, among others
Article on 35(1) promotion of respect and measures to ensure human dignity to Persons with disabilities(2) enacting appropriate laws for protection of PWDs
All laws, policies and programs on disability are in line with the Constitution

6. General Inclusive frameworks cont’d
The Parliamentary Elections Statute of 1996; provides for elections of 4 regional representatives and a woman representative of Persons with disabilities in Parliament. (Under SDG 5on Gender Equality and 10 on political inclusion)
The Local Government Act ,Cap 243(As amended); Provides for representation of PWDs (female and male) at all local government levels. There are approximately 50,000 Councillors at decision making levels
The Universal Primary Education Act of 1997; commands families with Children with Disabilities (CWD) to give them priority at the time of enrolment.
.The Building Control Act 2013 incorporated Accessibility Standards

7. General Inclusive legal frameworks
The Universal Primary Education Act of 1997, commands families with Children with Disabilities (CWD) to give them priority at the time of enrolment.
The Uganda Communications Act provides for development of techniques and technologies that facilitate accessibility to communication services .
The Land Act of 1998; provides that any transaction of customary land that discriminates on PWDs shall be null and void.
Equal Opportunities Commission Act 2007,Part 111, Section 14 of the Equal Opportunities Commission provides for monitoring and evaluation of policies, laws , plans ,activities, practices ,traditions, cultures, usages and customs to ensure that they are compliant with equal opportunities and affirmative action.

8. Specific Inclusive provisions under MGLSD
The National Council for Disability Act (2003) mandates the Council to bring gaps in service delivery to persons with Disabilities to the attention of government or other service providers for improvement;
The Persons with Disabilities Act(2006) provides a comprehensive legal protection for Persons with Disabilities, examination of all forms of discrimination against them in order to equalize opportunities and related matters. It is in line with most of SDGs especially in area of education, health, employment and accessibility including in risks and humanitarian emergencies and currently it is under review to align it with new developments

9. INCLUSIVE POLICIES AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS(MGLSD)
Clause 5 of the Act, on education stipulates;
inclusive education and government implements the inclusive Universal Primary and Secondary Education Policies and Affirmative Action of extra points at Universities 600 learners with disabilities at this levels.
MGLSD in collaboration with UNICEF undertook a research study, 9 % CWDs enroll but 6% drop out so among recommendations was National Plan on CWDs as a holistic approach to needs of Children with Disabilities

10. INCLUSIVE POLICIES CONT’D
National Integrated Early Childhood Policy (2016)- programs will be age appropriate to meet special needs of all children such as in conflict areas, those affected by HIV/AIDS, CWDs and , street children;
Policy on orphans and Vulnerable children; specifically targets children with disabilities

11. Interventions by MGLSD
SDG 1 and 2 and 8
National Social Protection Policy (2015) to improve resilience and participation of vulnerable groups. Under this policy, MGLSD is implementing Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment targeting older persons. 123,000 OPs have benefited including 4000 OPWDs
The Policy has another component of Social Care and Support Component
Main stream programs include Livelihood Program (2000 YWDs), Uganda Women’s Entreprenuership Program, Operation Wealth Creation Program, .

12. Interventions cont’d
National Employment Policy for Uganda 2011 recognizes that employment of vulnerable groups (PWDs )key to wealth creation
Promoting the Employability and Employment of Persons with Disabilities -MGLSD uses a twin track approach, that is through its Vocational Rehabilitation Program which trains 200 persons with Disabilities in employable skills and the mainstream Business, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) which promotes equitable access to education and training for disadvantaged groups
Community Based Rehabilitation Programme
Current Government Strategy for rehabilitation, poverty reduction , equalization of opportunities and social inclusion. MGLSD is currently implementing it in 25 districts with the intention of scaling it up.

13. Programs cont’d
Special Grant for Persons with Disabilities- Countrywide Program for employment creation and improving livelihoods. Over 12,000 women and men with disabilities have accessed ( Self esteem, dignity, scholastic materials, confidence building, happy families)
SDG 6 On Clean Water and Sanitation the Ministry of Gender in collaboration with World Vision are implementing the Inclusive WASH Pilot in Western and Northern Uganda. Accessible water and sanitation facilities and Child Friendly Spaces have been constructed in camps

14. Multisectoral Collaboration
Government notes that Disability issues are cross cutting so puts in place enabling environment for all players; Consultations with OPWDs , Key line Ministries, NGOs in area of disability and communities to produce these policies;
Challenges: Limited disaggregated data, low levels of awareness raising, Limited Capacity in service delivery, negative attitudes of policy and service providers

15. WAY FORWARD
Advocate for disability surveys to have specific data on persons with disabilities
Mainstreaming disability in mainstream programs(Appeal to UN Country Offices to prioritize Disability),
Review laws, policies and programs to make them disability sensitive;
Develop a National Plan for implementing the Concluding observations by the Committee on the CRPD

16. THE END
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