Senator calls for special census of PWDs in the country

A Senator now wants the government to conduct a special census for Persons Living with Disabilities, claiming the current statistics do not represent their true numbers.

Crystal Asige, the Senator nominated to represent PWDs, says the 2019 count undervalued the number of disabled persons in the country since the tally relied on basic questions leaving out a huge section of the special population unaccounted for.

A total of 47,564,296 persons were enumerated during the 2019 census, comprising 23,548,056 males, 24,014,716 females and 1,524 intersexes.

Of the entire population, 2.2 per cent above five years was recorded as having a disability, a figure lower than 2009 3.8 per cent, raising questions over the huge disparity.

"Where did all these people go? Was there a miracle that cured them? It's clear that some were not factored in, my next push is to have a special census done for us to be recounted and through a correct criterion," the nominated senator said.

The census further stated that 1.9 per cent of men and 2.5 per cent of women had a disability compared to 3.7 per cent of men and 3.9 per cent of women in 2009.

Senator Asige believes leaving out those not counted creates room for them to miss out on disability-inclusive programmes and policies.

"What you do not count does not count," added the Senator who has also sponsored a bill seeking to amend sections of The Persons with Disabilities Act, 2003 to obligate the Council to specify the type of disability when recognizing a PWD, use dignified language when referring to them and increase the fine imposed for contravening the same from Sh20,000 to 1 million.

The bill if enacted into law will also see parents who provide home-based care to their children with severe disabilities exempted from paying tax.

The bill further seeks to have persons suffering conditions such as autism and sclerosis listed amongst other PWD conditions, so that they also benefit from government reliefs.