Check out Persons with disability highlight present challenges ahead of census

The $1 million project, (equivalent to over Rwf1 billion), will facilitate inclusive national planning and support programmes for the disabled people, according to officials.

Its beneficiaries say issues of family stigma and mobility in remote areas – which bogged down the previous counts – still exist.

The NCPD says that unlike the previous census where beneficiaries were called to go to the nearest health centre, in the upcoming exercise, the enumerators will go house to house.

“Think of a child who is deaf-blind and has a physical disability and the family can’t allow him to go outdoors. It is the job of the NCPD to make sure that such families are first mobilised to take part in the enumeration.”

The National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) says with the new system, every person with disability will get a digital profile, detailing their disability status and the challenges they face due to their living standards.

“Due to stigma, some families hide disabled children and even adults from other people or keep them isolated in a room for years,” said Clemence Mukarugwiza, a lawyer with visual impairment.

Results of the census expected to start next month, will be used to roll out a disability management and information system (DMIS) – the first digital registry of disabled people in sub-Saharan Africa.