The\nMinister of State Gender and Culture, Hon. Peace Mutuzo, has asked Parliament\nto consider approving the proposed budget increase for Persons With\nDisabilities (PWDs). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that the current budget of Shs2billion is insufficient and cannot support the 12.8million PWDs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn\nour framework, we propose that this budget should be increased to Shs12\nbillion. This money will support the councils for PWDs to be able to register\nPWDs to enable us effectively and efficiently plan for them,\u201d said Mutuzo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nwas speaking during the charity walk event to raise funds towards the\nestablishment of a center for people living with albinism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nevent that is part of the third annual Parliament Week 2019 activities, was\nflagged off by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah on 13 January,\n2018 at Parliament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mutuzo\nadded that MoGLSD is working with the Ministry of Education and Sports to\nensure that special interest and special needs education centers are\nestablished in every region to increase access to education by children with\ndisabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis\nis what the Ministry of Education is intending to do at least within the next\nfinancial year,\u201d said Mutuzo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nMember of Parliament representing PWDs in the Central Region, Hon. Safia Nalule\nnoted that people living with albinism still face the challenge of access to\neducation and sunscreen among others. She added that people with albinism are\nprone to trafficking and sacrifice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nsaid that in a bid to protect the rights of people living with albinism, a\nprivate member\u2019s Bill titled, \u201cThe protection of the rights of persons with\nalbinism Bill, 2018 has been drafted\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nrequest that we scrutinize this Bill and make our contributions before I seek\nleave of Parliament to allow me introduce this Bill,\u201d said Nalule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nfurther noted the need to organize international conferences aimed at bringing\ntogether stakeholders to discuss strategies to improve the lives of persons\nliving with albinism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People\nliving with albinism called on the Ministry of Education and Sports to give\nstudents with albinism extra time during national examinations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nExecutive Director, Uganda Albino Association, Jude Ssebyanzi said that given\ntheir visual inaccuracy, persons living with albinism cannot read as fast as\nother students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nneed at least 30 extra minutes during national examinations so that we can\ncompete with the rest of the students,\u201d said Ssebyanzi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nalso asked the Ministry of Education and Sports to ensure that students with\nalbinism are given front seats in classrooms and reading material with bigger\nfonts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nCommissioner physical education at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Lamex\nOmara Apita promised that the Ministry of Education will discuss the issues\nraised for their attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs\na Ministry we do pursue the laws of the land and policies regarding persons who\nare marginalized. We shall do the same for persons with albinism within our\nmeans,\u201d said Omara Apita. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parliamentary\nCommissioner, Hon. Cecilia Ogwal who represented the Speaker of Parliament,\nRebecca Kadaga pledged that the protection of the rights of persons with\nalbinism Bill, 2018 will be handled expeditiously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nsaid that people living with albinism need to be given hope, courage and\nabsorbed into the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople\nwith albinism are living in agony. Silent discrimination is worse than open\ndiscrimination. Your lives are in danger all the time,\u201d said Ogwal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ogwal\nalso called on stakeholders to find ways of mobilizing funds to support\nParliament\u2019s efforts to establish a center for people living with albinism,\nbesides the charity walk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Speaker of Parliament has requested me to remind you that we have so far raised only shs72 million out of the expected shs5 billion. If only our partners could find other avenues of raising this money so that we can make this center a reality,\u201d said Ogwal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parliament.go.ug<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Minister of State Gender and Culture, Hon. Peace Mutuzo, has asked Parliament to consider approving the proposed budget increase for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs). She said that the current budget of Shs2billion is insufficient and cannot support the 12.8million PWDs. \u201cIn our framework, we propose that this budget should be increased to Shs12 billion. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":7565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-7564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n