Poverty and Disability In Uganda

There is a strong link between poverty and disability the Republic of Uganda Poverty Status Report 2014 says. In 2009/10 92.3% of households with a severely disabled member were considered to be living in poverty or at risk of living in poverty.

In addition, individuals with disabilities are likely to have more expensive consumption needs to attain a given standard of living due to additional expenditures related to healthcare, assistive devices, transportation and assistance workers.

“A Mini Poverty and Participatory Assessment,” the report continues

also found that individuals with disabilities are disproportionately affected by poverty. In Lira, it was reported that disabled individuals faced many problems with very little assistance from others or means of earning money. The disabled are registered at the sub-county but do not benefit from any special assistance or targeted programme.

With a wheelchair and artificial legs this man could make a contribution to his family

How does this translate to real numbers? The population of Uganda was estimated to be 37,580,000 in 2014 of which some 16% are estimated to be disabled says the African Disability Rights Handbook 2014. By my calculation in 2014 there were 5,625,000 PWDs (persons with disabilities) in Uganda. There are just under 5,200,000 PWDs living in poverty or at risk of living in poverty in Uganda.

To put this into perspective, I come from New Zealand. The population of NZ is around 4,600,000. So there are more PWDs in Uganda living in poverty than the total population of New Zealand. Thank goodness Disability Support Uganda is doing something to alleviate the problem.

Disability Support Uganda is working with PWDs at grassroots to alleviate poverty through events like Abilities 256.