21/09/2026
What transpired at the Disability National Convening 2026? 🇺🇬♿
Last week, stakeholders from across Uganda came together for the National Stakeholders’ Convening on Disability Inclusion in Social Services and Decision-Making Processes.
The two-day convening created space for persons with disabilities, government representatives, development partners, civil society, employers and other stakeholders to share experiences, identify gaps and discuss practical ways to strengthen disability inclusion.
One message stood out strongly: “Nothing about us without us.”
The discussions covered many important areas, including:
🔹 Inclusive education and the need for sustainable financing and adequate support for learners with disabilities.
🔹 Health and rehabilitation, including access to assistive devices, specialised health professionals, medicines and early intervention.
🔹 Livelihoods and economic empowerment, including better access to PDM, GROW and SAGE programmes.
🔹 Digital inclusion and innovation, including the use of 3D technology to support rehabilitation and care.
🔹 Skilling and employment, with emphasis on meaningful employment, equal remuneration and institutionalising disability inclusion in workplaces.
🔹 Reasonable accommodation and inclusive examinations so that learners with disabilities can participate fully without lowering academic standards.
🔹 Monitoring and accountability to ensure that government policies and services are actually reaching persons with disabilities.
The conversations also highlighted real challenges — from gaps in financing and staffing to inaccessible services, limited awareness and barriers to government programmes.
But the convening was not only about identifying challenges. It was also about solutions, collaboration and collective responsibility.
The task ahead is to turn these discussions into action and ensure that persons with disabilities are meaningfully involved in decisions that affect their lives.
Nothing about us without us.
