National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development successfully consulted persons with disabilities on the Global Disability Summit (GDS) commitments for 2025.
Through the summit countries seek to revitalize the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by committing to making the lives of persons with disabilities better through various themes.
This year’s summit which shall be held in April in Berlin is organised under the seven themes of;
Nothing About us Without us, focus on implementation, Focus on Rights, National Ownership,
Disability Inclusive Development, Bridging the Gap and Focus on Data and Evidence.
Uganda is seeking to commit to these themes. This however requires consultation with persons with disabilities and thus NUDIPU together with Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development consulted persons with disabilities regionally.
In response, persons with disabilities:
1. Call upon government to fast truck the implementation of the commitments that were made in the 2018 and 2022 Global Disability Summits that have not yet been implemented.
2.The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development should strengthen the coordination mechanism with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies that are responsible for the implementation of the Global Disability Summit Commitments.
3. Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government that are responsible for the implementation of the Global Disability Summit Commitments should prioritize planning and budgeting for the said Global Disability Summit Commitments.
4. Government should regularly involve Persons with Disabilities in the implementation of the Global Disability Summit Commitments.
During the National Validation meeting jointly hosted by NUDIPU and Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development recently in Kampala on 14th February 2025, Ms Esther Kyozira the Chief Executive Officer NUDIPU, stressed the fact that this is almost the third time to make consultations regarding the Global Disability Summit commitments.
Special appreciation to the consultants both form NUDIPU and Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development, who took effort to visit all regions countrywide to gather the views of persons with disabilities regarding the commitments they want Uganda as a country to commit to and serve the interests of persons with disabilities.
“I am optimistic these commitments will be polished to match the interests of persons with disabilities and what they would want to see implemented.”
“My observation over the years is we work together during the consultation process and collection of commitments. We go present and we are always very happy after presenting them. But what happens next this time round when we share our commitments at the Berlin summit in April? shares Ms Kyozira.
“This calls for a lot of action from National Council of Persons with disabilities because it is supposed to be our bridging institution for persons with disabilities to government to ensure some of the commitments are not just on paper but applicable and are being implemented.
“We need to keep regular consultations with persons with disabilities to understand their challenges and what can be done because if we don’t consult them, we are going to leave them behind, “ adds Ms Kyozira.
Most of the disability inclusion commitments have a budget implication and therefore this calls for prioritization in our budgets. If there is no budget allocation to some of these commitments, then the wish list will never be actualized,
Ms Esther Kyozira
