Persons with disabilities (PWDs) under their umbrella organization; National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) have called upon the Government to exempt taxes on their imported medical equipment, medicines and wheelchairs for physically impaired persons. The call was made at a one day National Symposium on Inclusive Health and Rehabilitation of Persons with Disability, held at Imperial Royale Hotel on Thursday.
Mr. David Nangosi, the moderator of the symposium, said persons with disability still face challenges and called for a remedy to addressing these barriers to improving healthcare for PWDs. He said PWDs with physical impairment continue to face the challenge of mobility due to lack of wheelchairs or Walking aids.
Ms. Maholo Carolyne Sserunkuma, a lecturer at Kyambogo University Department of Community and Disability Studies, highlighted a number of challenges faced by PWDs, in a nationwide research she carried out on the state of disability in Uganda. She said 4.5 million PWDs in Uganda need rehabilitation as they face challenges of mobility and walking aid equipment.
“Many Hospitals across the Country have no needed equipment for PWDs and the few hospitals are equipped with PWDs equipment from donors”, she said.
She called on the Government to exempt taxes on imported wheelchairs, artificial limbs and knee Joints among others.
Ms. Sserunkuma pointed out that one knee Joint for a person with physical disability costs UGX 600,000, which is too expensive to be afforded by majority PWDs that live in the rural areas of Uganda.
Ms. Olive Namutebi, a woman living with Albinism called on the Government to exempt taxes on albinism skin oil, which protects them from the negative health effects brought about by the sun’s heat. She said Albinos also face a challenge of eyesight due to the scorching sun’s rays, where they require wearing special eye glasses, which should also be exempted from taxation.
Mr. Yona Waswa, NUDIPU Chairperson said a lot of disability in Uganda is caused by Gender Based Domestic Violence (GBV), where women are battered and their arms and legs broken by their husbands. He called on the Government to equip Health Centres and Hospitals with enough medicine for PWDs as research shows; few hospitals handle PWDs health challenges due to lack of medicine and equipment.
Mubangizi Andrew, the Assistant Commissioner for Disability and Rehabilitation in the Ministry of Health labored to explain Government position on the health of PWDs. He said the ministry of Health carries no blame on the absence of medicine and equipment for PWDs because each hospital has an administrative Board that should decide which medicine and equipment is needed at their health facilities.
“Government has decentralized all decision making to the Hospitals’ Boards countrywide who decide on what medicine and equipment the Ministry of Health should supply the Hospitals”, he said.
On exemption of taxes for PWDs imported equipment and medicines, Mubangizi called on NUDIPU to make a list of the said equipment and medicines and address it to the Minister of Health for action.
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