The National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) has raised objections to the results of the 2024 National Housing and Population census, claiming they are misleading.
NUDIPU argues that the figures do not accurately represent the actual prevalence of disabilities within the nation.
Recently, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) published the final census results, indicating that Uganda’s population is 45.9 million, with only 5.7 percent classified as disabled.
Betty Cheptoek, the Executive Director of Show Abilities Uganda, an organization affiliated with NUDIPU, has voiced her concerns regarding the reported drop in the percentage of individuals with disabilities.
Results indicate that the percentage of persons with disabilities fell from 12.4 percent in 2014 to 5.7 percent in the latest census, labeling these findings as erroneous.
Cheptoek pointed out that the 2014 census did not account for individuals with albinism, those who are hard of hearing, or people with epilepsy, whereas the current census included a wider array of disabilities.
She questioned how the number of disabled individuals could decrease.
Furthermore, Cheptoek highlighted that the report lacks district-level statistics on disability prevalence, which complicates a thorough understanding of the issue and calls for a deeper examination of the census data.
