This is Uganda

Population: 32.4 million

People with disabilities. 2.3 million
Prevalence of HIV: 5,4 percent (2007)
480.000 women from 15 years are living with HIV
Population below the poverty line: 35 percent
Life expectancy, men: 51.66 years
Life expectancy, women: 53.81 years
Human Development Index: 157 (2009)
In Uganda, like in so many other countries, poverty and disability walk hand in hand.
Estimates tell us that about 35 percent of the total population are living below the poverty
line. By comparison, more than 80 percent of the disabled have an income below the very
same poverty line. This means that one out of four poor persons in Uganda is also disabled.
The reasons for this difficult situation are diverse:
Close to 90 percent of all the disabled in Uganda live in rural areas. This reduces their
access to services and other measures intended for this group.
Disabled person are in practice excluded from getting an education. The share of
disabled who never fulfill their education is four times as high as for the general
population. Disabled women are even worse off in this respect than men.
Persons with disabilities are often met with prejudice and exclusion in many local
communities.
The lack of access to education also means that the disabled of Uganda are effectively
excluded from participating in the authorities programmes for poverty alleviation.
More than 60 percent of Ugandas disabled have never taken part in rehabilitation
programmes that could have integrated them into the economy of the country.
There is, however, cause for optimism. NAD is partnered with The National Union of
Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU).
NUDIPU was established as early as 1987. Contrary to traditional thinking that sees support
for the disabled as charity and rehabilitation as a question of medical treatment, NUDIPU has
chosen a different starting point: Equality and integration must be based on human rights and
social justice. Society must take measures to adapt to the needs of disabled persons. Only
then will people with disabilities achieve their rights and be fully integrated in the economic,
political, social and cultural life of Uganda.
NUDIPU is among the most efficient advocacy organizations for the rights and equality of
the disabled in Africa. The organization played an important role in the development of the
political structures securing the disabled more than 54.000 elected representatives at all levels
of the political life, from village councils to the Ugandan Parliament. NUDIPU enjoys a high
international standing, the economy of the organization is solid, it is well run and
membership is soaring. All these factors make NUDIPU a force to be reckoned with as an
advocacy and lobbying organization for the benefit of Ugandans with disabilities.
As is this is not enough, Uganda has a comprehensive set of laws guaranteeing the rights of
people with disabilities. Local advocates, however, complain that the implementation of these
laws leaves a lot to be desired. The work of NUDIPU is still needed!