Minister for PWDs tasks Ubos on questionable census results
Ms Hellen Grace Asamo, the State minister for Disability Affairs.
What you need to know:
- Minister Hellen Grace Asamo reasoned that since the recently released census report on PWDs was questionable, they are still using the old figures of the last census of 2014.
The Minister of State for Disability Affairs has tasked the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) to have the right figures for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) if they are to make informed decisions regarding their services.
Minister Hellen Grace Asamo reasoned that since the recently released census report on PWDs was questionable, they are still using the old figures of the last census of 2014.
Ubos in its recently released results, showed that PWDs make up 5.7 percent of the total population which according to disability rights groups including the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (Nudipu), this figure is far lower than the 12.4 percent recorded in the 2014 census.
“…Everybody is contesting the results of Ubos. I told you in 2014 they gave us 12.4 percent so what they were reporting was not the same as ours, that’s why we are requesting them to carry out a special Ubos assessment of the report for PWDs looking at their different functionalities,” Minister Asamo said earlier today during a media briefing in Kampala.
Adding: “Because our request as a ministry is to know how many are deaf, how many are blind, how many are whatever because you can’t think disabled people can be put in one group, so those results as we all know, Ubos has promised to give a final statement in December.”
Ubos spokesperson, Mr Didcaus Okoth when contacted said: “It is important for us to wait for the final results this December,”
In the released census report, Ubos misrepresented the figures for some tribes, such as Bagisu, Langi, and Acholi, by using the 2014 data for the 2024 census, thereby indicating a decline rather than an increase.
The minister used the same press briefing to update the nation about the forthcoming commemoration of the International Day of PWDs on December 3.
She added that based on this year’s theme of “Improved Household Incomes: for Wellbeing of Persons With Disability” emphasis is being focused on how to improve the livelihoods of PWDs and also reduce inequality.
