PARLIAMENT WEEK: Kadaga Calls on Government to Consider Albinos

Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has called on government to give special considerations to people with albinism.

Speaking during the Parliament Week’s Inter-faith ecumenical service on Tuesday, Kadaga noted that in the last population census in 2014, people with albinism were not considered as marginalized special groups.

“When the government was counting people in marginalised groups, they had no regard for the people with albinism yet they meet complications unique to them every day,” said Kadaga.

Kadaga also wondered why people with albinism are not included in any of the official policies.

According to the Speaker, the government describes vulnerability as orphan hood and disability and this has been broken down to mean anyone suffering significant physical, social, emotional or psychological harm to the extent that it affects their human rights. Albinos also fall among the above categories.

She stressed that the government needs to know how many people with albinism exist in order to plan for them accordingly.

Meanwhile Olive Namutebi, the head of Albinism Umbrella, an NGO bringing together people with albinism said they conducted a census for the people with the condition, something that is ordinarily beyond their responsibilities and supposed to be done by the government.

The Inter-Faith Service attracted religious leader from different faith denominations, political leaders and delegates to pray for the nation particularly the legislature in the year ahead.

Parliament Week is running from the 20^th to 25^th of January 2020 and the building is open to the members of the public to enter interact with members and staff of Parliament to better appreciate various legislative activities.