Uganda has started to lay some of the foundations for a welfare state with transfer payments for vulnerable groups. For example, in 2015, a tax-paid universal pension benefit was introduced – although still at a very low level and only for those over 80.
There is still very limited public support for people with disabilities and for children. There are no benefits for persons with disabilities and no benefits for families with children. Many families with children with disabilities live in poverty and find it difficult to pay for expenses such as transportation to treatment, medicine, aids, and school.
With this project, we support disability organisations in Uganda in their work to get the Ugandan government to invest more in social services for persons with disabilities. The initial goal is to introduce a monthly benefit for families with children with disabilities.
Uganda is holding parliamentary and presidential elections in early 2026, and this is a good opportunity to influence political priorities and put a national benefit for children with disabilities on the agenda.
Therefore, the project includes advocacy with political parties and candidates, mobilisation of disability organizations and influencing the public debate leading up to the elections, with the aim of making a national benefit for children with disabilities a key election issue.
The project is implemented in a consortium consisting of the National Union of Disability Organizations in Uganda (NUDIPU), the National Union of People with Physical Disabilities (UNAPD) and two associations of MPs focusing on social safety nets (UPFSP) and disability (UPFPwD) respectively.
