The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has called upon the government of Uganda to create equal opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (PWD).

While addressing the media at Uganda House on December 4, 2024, the UPC party spokesperson, Sharon Arach Oyat, said that the government needs to prioritize persons with disabilities, set up different funds for them, and give them different opportunities like it has done for women and youths.

“There is a need to have an equal opportunity for all; the persons with disabilities have fewer opportunities in the job market, and it’s high time the government prioritized them because even they are the minority,” Arach said.

Arach asked the government to set up more schools for persons with disabilities to also help those with special needs have a chance of education.

“We don’t have schools for the blind or deaf, and that’s why we have so many persons with disabilities less educated,” Arach said.

These remarks came as Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate the day of persons with disabilities under the theme “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future.”

Other political players also made different calls to the government to enhance the well-being of persons with disabilities.

The NUP party president, Robert Kyagulanyi, said that there is a need for the government to have an inclusive policy to cater to all Ugandans.

The Democratic Party National Secretary for Persons with Disabilities, Maxensia Takirambule, while addressing party members, asked the government to prioritize the inclusion of PWDs in all aspects of development.

According to the Uganda 2014 census, the persons with disabilities are said to be over 12.4%, whereas the recent 2024 census puts them at 5.7%, statistics that many stakeholders have rejected.