Kampala, Uganda – National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), in collaboration with other Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and the Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA), has called for a supplementary budget of Shs12 billion to support Uganda’s most vulnerable children, those living with disabilities.
The demand was made during a press briefing held in Kampala, where disability rights leaders were joined by members of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Disability. They called on the Ministry of Finance to act urgently and prioritize inclusion in the country’s growing national budget.
“Children with disabilities are being left behind. They face immense barriers in accessing healthcare, education, and basic social services,” said Esther Kyozira, CEO of NUDIPU.
“We are demanding a Child Disability Benefit because these children matter. It’s time the government matched its rhetoric with action.”
Uganda’s national budget has steadily expanded over the past decade, yet advocates argue that it has repeatedly overlooked the needs of children with disabilities, despite their increasing numbers and ongoing marginalization.
Currently, there is no dedicated fund that targets social protection for children with disabilities, and families caring for them often fall through the cracks of existing programs like the Senior Citizens Grant or Parish Development Model (PDM).
“We are not asking for luxury, we are asking for dignity,” said one mother of a child with cerebral palsy.
“The cost of assistive devices, special schools, and transport is unbearable. And yet we are invisible in policy discussions.”
The proposed Shs12 billion would be channeled toward establishing a Child Disability Benefit, a targeted social protection intervention designed to cover essential needs such as assistive technologies like wheelchairs, hearing aids, access to inclusive education, caregiver support for families, and psychosocial services
Human rights advocates say such a benefit would not only ease the economic burden on families but also align Uganda with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which it is a signatory.
Lawmakers from the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Disability threw their weight behind the proposal, with some pledging to table a motion in Parliament to demand a response from the Ministry of Finance.
“If we cannot protect the rights of disabled children, then we’ve failed as a country. We must treat this not as charity but as justice.”
According to data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, over 13% of Uganda’s children are estimated to live with some form of disability. Yet, most of them are either out of school, out of healthcare, or excluded from public services.
This growing exclusion has long-term consequences—not just for the affected children, but for the nation’s development as a whole.
NUDIPU and its allies are now urging the Ministry of Finance to include the Child Disability Benefit in the next supplementary budget, or risk continuing a pattern of policy neglect and systemic injustice.
“If the government can find billions for infrastructure and military spending, surely it can find Shs12 billion to protect the dignity of disabled children,” Kyozira emphasized.
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