Mainstreaming Gender in ADD Uganda programme

ADD has a gender policy in place which is used to provide guidance for the realisation of the organisations commitment to gender equity and equality and promoting the participation of disabled women in the disability and women movements as well as other community development activities meant to alleviate poverty and improve on their livelihood.  ADD recognizes the fact that disabled women in poor countries such as Uganda face double discrimination and disadvantage because of the stigma attached to their gender and disability.   It is therefore not just difficult but it is often impossible for them to assess education, employment or participate in meaningful socio-economic development activities which in turn make them amongst the poorest of the poor.  ADD also recognizes that isolation and confinement based on culture and traditions, attitudes and prejudices often affect disabled women more than men.  This isolation of disabled women leads to low self-esteem and negative feelings. 

Although the disability movement in Uganda is relatively strong and has scored a number of achievements, in reality disabled women’s participation in decisions making is still low. Similarly there has been hardly any participation and involvement of disabled women in the women's movement hence the reason the majority of the disabled women are not empowered and are still ignorant of their rights.

To ensure WwDs participation and their involvement in the disability movement and development in general,  ADD conducts a number of activities with WwDs organisations at National and district level in accordance with its two aims;
i) Cultivate capacity building and ii) Influence and advocacy.

The activities include; conducting situational analysis in collaboration with NUWODU, which is conducted to establish the existence of WwDs groups and the status of the WwDs before offering support to the group; Supports the district WwD associations and their mother organization at national level with financial support to meet their operational costs. In 2008 this support was extended to NUWODU, DWNRO, Kumi, Busia, Mpigi, Apac and Wakiso.

ADD also offers training in various skills such as leadership training, organizational management, strategic planning and advocacy. The training is meant to equip the WwDs with organizational development skills that will enable them manage their organizations sufficiently, exhibit democratic leadership, organize and mobilse WwDs in their districts to participate in the development programmes. The groups are also assisted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their association and identify potentional stakeholders in their districts with whom they can work with to improve their social and economic status.

DRO Masindi during a monitoring visit with Masindi Women council executive committee visit one of the Masindi WWDs groups affiliated to the Masindi WWDs association. It is one of the beneficiaries from the Women’s Council.

ADD networks WWDs groups to other development agencies and women organisations and has continued to advocate for the inclusion of WWDs and girls with disability in education, health, economic programmes of both government and other development agencies.  The women groups are also supported to conduct advocacy in their districts and National level.

Work on HIV & AIDS

Uganda has been at the forefront in the fight against HIV & AIDS and has been successful in bringing down the national HIV prevalence rate to 6.4%. Despite this success, the distinctive and unique needs of PWDs have not been considered in improving access to information and services. This has evidently made persons with disabilities vulnerable to the epidemic and susceptible to misinformation on HIV & AIDS, sexual abuse, and most of the infection factors that propagate the scourge.

ADD’s focus on HIV & AIDS among PwDs has mainly been through sensitization on HIV & AIDS which is conducted in partnership with District Health Departments, AIDS service organizations like TASO, AIC, JCRC, Marie Stopes etc., networking PwD organizations at district level to AIDS organizations and lobbying for extension of home based care to PwDs affected by HIV. Through the Health education training, ADD conducts HIV & AIDS awareness raising among groups of WwDs in collaboration with Health and HIV & AIDS service providers.

Facilitator from Marie Stopes providing information on family planning and HIV & AIDS to the Katakwi WWDs association in December 2008.

ADD participated in a number of HIV & AIDS international and national AIDS events. i.e. World AIDS Day, AIDS conferences at nation and international levels; for instance the 2nd and 3rd African campaign on Disability and HIV & AIDS, the 4th  and 5th national AIDS conference organised by the Uganda AIDS Commission. 

ADD also conducted a research study entitled “Challenges faced by PWDs in utilizing HIV & AIDS communication and related health services in Uganda”. Some of the major findings of this study included; inaccessibility of  AIDS information and services, inadequate communication strategy that excludes persons like the deaf, blind, deafblind etc from accessing appropriate information, evidence of the increase of the epidermic among PWDs especially WWDs, Girls with Disability and children with disability, lack of  data on the HIV prevalence among PwDs making it difficult to plan for their  specific disability needs, limited efforts by the policy makers to repackage AIDS communication strategy into appropriate language accessible to PWDs. Vulnerability to HIV & AIDS is compounded by lack of information, limited access to heath centres, inappropriate communication systems and languages, which are in combination with other structural factors. Therefore, present channels and modes of HIV & AIDS communication are mostly not addressing PwD’s requirements for information, care and treatment of HIV & AIDS. 

This research has been instrumental in that it led to the formation of a partnership strategy called the “Disability Stakeholders HIV & AIDS Committee- DSHAC, through which ADD together with other disability stakeholders (NUDIPU, UNAD, UNAB, NADBU, TASO, UNAPD, UPACLED, COMBRA, ESAU, MHU, DWNRO, NUWODU and BBA) have taken on the task of advocating  for the mainstreaming of disability in the national HIV & AIDS response; the committee has also conducted joint AIDS advocacy initiatives and campaigns, participated in national AIDS events like the 4th and 5th National AIDS conference, ICASA, Get on Board campaign and World AIDS day celebrations. They have held a number of lobby meetings with AIDS organizations like TASO, AIC, Uganda AIDS Commission, UNASO, HIV & AIDS parliamentary committee.

Some of the achievements of this partnership include; securing funds from Civil Society Fund to a tune of Ushs. 400,000,000 for an HIV & AIDS programme which is being implemented in the districts of Soroti, Masaka and Gulu under the NUDIPU HIV & AIDS Project.

Some of the DSHAC members editing the IEC materials developed under the CSF project in 2008.

Impact and Lessons learnt

1. Partnership strategy is very crucial in the fight against HIV & AIDS because it brings about unity and a common understanding amongst the members. Because of this unity there has been tremendous success of the HIV & AIDS pilot project.

2. Data on HIV & AIDS among PwDs is very crucial in ensuring accessibility of AIDS services among PwDs. Hence the need for government and other AIDS organization to include disability in their data base.

3. Recognition and understanding of disability and the disabled as a vulnerable group to HIV & AIDS by the major HIV & AIDS stakeholders is a step towards inclusion and recognizes the plight of  PWDs by government and AIDS service providers.