Kadaga demands for specific Popn Statistics of People Living with Albinism

By Bizwan Kirunda

20^thJan 202

The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has demanded that the national census incorporates a category for Persons with Albinism so that their population size is adequately captured for proper planning.

Speaking after a 4-kilometre charity walk to raise funds for the construction of a Rehabilitation Centre for Persons living with Albinism, on Monday, Kadaga expressed dismay that the National Census data has no statistics on albinism.

The walk marked the beginning of the Annual Parliament Week, a period in which the public engages the institution through departmental exhibitions, ‘Talk to Your MP Sessions’, Civil Society Debate and others.

Parliament Week is held under the theme “Building a Strong Democracy in Uganda”.

Olive Namutebi, the Executive Director of African Albino Foundation says that they are struggling to obtain accurate data on albinism but the unconfirmed reports indicate there sizeable numbers of albinos in Budaka, Butaleja, Bududa, Manafwa, Sironko, Soroti, Kamuli, Mayuge and Buyende in Eastern Uganda totaling to 263 albinos but the number remains inaccurate since some refused to be counted.

75 per cent of the people with albinism in Eastern Uganda had issues with their eyesight and only 2 per cent had ever got an eye check-up, while a sizeable percentage did not know the cause of albinism.

Meanwhile, Kadaga expressed disappointment about the continued taxes on sunburn protective gear, including sun creams, glasses and hats yet parliament resolved to scrap the taxes.

The Government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa undertook to be an ambassador for Albinism in Cabinet so that favourable policies are developed.

The annual walk today raised 54.4 million Shillings as part of the five billion Shillings required for the construction of the planned Centre.