Issue
Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Uganda have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Government has demonstrated a commitment to integrate their specific needs in Covid-19 response plans, yet PWDs need the opportunity to articulate their concerns.
Project partners
How we are helping
This project will strengthen the capacity of PWD representatives to participate effectively in ongoing Covid-19 response measures. It will facilitate engagement between PWDs and Covid-19 Task Forces so that the needs of PWDs are adequately reflected in policies and planning.
About the project
The Government of Uganda responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with a series of measures including border closures, restrictions on movement, social distancing, and food relief. The President established a Covid-19 National Task Force, comprised principally of government ministries, departments, and agencies, with responsibility of ensuring effective implementation of the National Covid-19 Response Plan by the District Covid-19 Task Forces.
Community-based work is the strategic focus of the government’s pandemic response with District Task Forces to guide efforts and mobilise resources. At the sub-county level, the task forces participate in radio talk shows, supervise the translation of information into local languages and participate in community dialogue sessions.
Acknowledging that PWDs have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the increased advocacy by the disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) has led to adoption of PWDs representatives on the National and District Task Forces. However, the PWD representatives have limited capacity to articulate their needs at such fora.
This project aims to ensure inclusive or disability sensitive government response mechanisms at different levels through active inclusion of PWDs in ongoing Covid-19 prevention and management planning.
This will be achieved by:
- collating Task Force members’ experiences and linking with other DPOs to collectively document the impact of Covid-19 on diverse disability-specific experiences to inform evidence-based advocacy
- developing and implementing awareness campaigns on Covid-19 through print, radio, TV and social media using accessible formats (Ugandan Sign Language and Braille); conducting specific media awareness campaigns on gender-based violence prevention
- ensuring that PWD representatives are included in three District Task Forces
- training PWD representatives in advocacy to enhance their effective participation in District Task Forces
- strengthening engagement between PWDs and government authorities through holding meetings with the National and three District Task Forces to:
- raise PWDs’ priorities in Covid-19 planning on accessible quarantine centres, affirmative action in food distribution, production of user-friendly masks etc
- advocate for use of gender-disaggregated indicators in monitoring frameworks of National & District Task Forces for tracking the reach of programmes to PWDs
- holding meetings with WHO and Ministry of Health officials to advocate for prioritisation of PWDs in Covid-19 testing/treatment programmes, and including gender-disaggregated indicators to track programme performance
Project Partners
Uganda National Action on Physical Disability (UNAPD) is an organisation of persons with physical disabilities with a strong membership base of over 7,000 members. For over 20 years, UNAPD has successfully developed members’ skills to become self-advocates. It has effective contact with government agencies and mainstream actors. Among notable advocacy successes was the adoption of National Accessibility Standards and the enactment of the Building Control Act (2013). UNAPD will be responsible for overall management and project implementation. They will also lead on coordinating with other DPOs on documentation and on developing policy and practice recommendations.
Light for the World (LFTW) has technical expertise on disability inclusion and this will be harnessed in the design of specific campaign and advocacy interventions. LFTW has particular experience of working with people who have visual and hearing impairments and people who are deaf or blind, and this will complement the focus of UNAPD’s work with people who have physical impairments, so ensuring that a more diverse voice of PWDs is articulated. LFTW will be responsible for ensuring that media and awareness raising materials are accessible (Ugandan Sign Language and Braille).
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