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Gulu Council Votes: Schools and Hospitals to be Accessible for Survivors with Disabilities in Northern Uganda
Dec 08, 2009
In a major victory for Survivor Corps and disability rights, the Gulu district and municipal councils in Northern Uganda have voted to make schools, hospitals and health centers accessible to people with disability.

If implemented, the decisions could improve the quality of life for thousands of Ugandans who suffered from the war in the north. They also mark a major success for Survivor Corps’ partner the Gulu Disabled Persons Union (GDPU), a network of advocates which has pressed the government to integrate disability into reconstruction plans.

The GDPU is supported by Survivor Corps, which opened a joint program in Uganda in the summer of 2008. John Francis Onyango, who coordinates the program for Survivor Corps, welcomed the decision by the two councils, “This is a major step forward for the way that Northern Uganda treats people with disabilities. Especially when you look at how children with disabilities are treated in this country, to have schools that are accessible can be the difference between a child begging on the streets and a child learning in the classroom.”

Meanwhile, in another sign of the growing power of the disability lobby in Uganda, five members of parliament who have formed a disability caucus announced on November 11 that they will push to incorporate the new UN Convention on disability rights into Ugandan law. The Convention significantly expands the definition of the rights of persons with disability.

The rebellion by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda caused massive displacement and left a terrible legacy of mutilation and disease. One local official in Gulu said that 14% of the population may suffer from a form of disability - significantly higher than other parts of the country. In most communities, however, disability is a cause of stigma and exclusion.

Responding to a request from GDPU, Survivor Corps has trained a GDPU assessment team, drafted accessibility bylaws, supplied IT equipment and sent two volunteers to help the GDPU with information dissemination. Earlier this year, the program organized a fundraiser which raised $3,000 from 12 Ugandan corporations.

Simon Ong'om, the GDPU chairman, says that Survivor Corps has given his group the profile and confidence to petition the Ugandan authorities and international agencies. At the GDPU's urging, he said, the World Food Program (WFP) has organized a separate distribution of emergency food aid for refugees with a disability and increased rations. The GDPU has also joined a key NGO disaster management committee in Gulu.

Going forward, the GDPU and Survivor Corps now plans to hold the two Gulu councils to their pledge and also exert pressure from the villages, by nominating at least 30 people with disabilities for local elections.
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