COVID: NUDIPU Asks Health Ministry to Prioritize Persons with Disability in Vaccination Process
By: Kyeyune Ali
The government of Uganda resumed the vaccination of Ugandans against the deadly disease, COVID-19 at different health centres.
A number of vaccination centres are catering more about the category of people who received the first jab and they are getting their second jab, this left many not catered for.
On Friday at Ntinda, the Chairman of National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda, Hon. Hajji Bumali Mpindi called for prioritisation of people with disabilities in getting vaccine for COVID-19.
“NUDIPU is calling for more reasonable accommodation to ensure that persons with Disabilities are not left out during vaccination process and for all vaccination campaign messages to be made accessible to enable persons with Disabilities to take part.” Hajji Bumali told media at Ntinda.
This is in collaboration with sight savers on their Equal World Campaign which is calling on Governments around the World to vaccinate persons with disabilities because they among the groups with high risk to contract the disease.
The world faces a historical moment to test existing commitments to equity, equality and universal health care.”
Meanwhile, NUDIPU applauded the government for having launched the Covid 19 mass vaccination campaign in March 2021, which started with essential groups who were health workers, Teachers, Police and Army and the elderly as they were considered among high risk groups.
However persons with Disabilities have not been able to fully benefit from the process due to limited priority given to them and number of outstanding challenges faced by persons with Disabilities such as inaccessible vaccination campaign messages due to the inaccessible information.
The government is in process of securing more vaccines through procurement and donations and according to Dr. Jane Ruth Achieng the Minister of Health, Uganda aims to vaccinate at least 49.6/- of its population (21,936,011) with Covid 19 vaccines in different phases.
Vaccination centres have been put up by government at Health centres ll, lll, lv in all 136 districts to bring services closer to the people. in order for Persons with Disabilities to be able to benefit from such services, there is aneed for government provide for reasonable accommodation in the vaccination campaign to allow persons with Disabilities get access to the vaccine to reduce the burden that Covid 19 would add to disability.