The Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Hon Rebecca Kadaga has on Thursday at Parliament asked for the national census to incorporate a category for persons with albinism.

The speaker said this while meeting a team from the New Life foundation which was presenting a petition by special needs children for inclusive education and safe services in the country.

The move to incorporate a category of people with albinism in the national census is meant to enable proper planning for the Albino community by capturing their population size adequately.

Susan Kwizera the founder of The New Life Foundation, which is a support program for developmentally disabled youth and adults, also pointed out that there is limited support to children with special needs in the education sector.

“The special needs and inclusive Education department is allocated less than 1% of the Ministry of Education and Sports budget,” she told the speaker.

On Monday, while officiating at the Parliamentary fundraising walk for the Albino Community, Kadaga asked the government to make a deliberate effort and compile national data that is specific to Persons with Albinism. In her view, this will help in addressing the special needs of the albino community in services such as healthcare and education.

“The Local Council leaders should make it their responsibility to know the number of persons with albinism in their areas so that we can plan for schools,” Ms Kadaga said.

The walk, which is the third of its kind, raised Shs54m towards the proposed rehabilitation centre, projected to cost at least Shs5b.