A Rural-urban Comparison of Living Conditions in Households with and without Disabilities in Uganda

Abstract

This manuscript is developed from research conducted in 2018–2019 on “Living Conditions among Persons with Disabilities in Uganda.” The paper compares living conditions among households with and without disabilities by rural-urban locations on these indicators: asset possession, dietary diversity, information access, sources and type of water, energy and housing standard and infrastructure. These are believed to be the basic necessities for a family and vital for determining a family’s welfare; however, existing literature suggests that they have not received much research focus. The household is the focus because most of the Uganda government’s poverty reduction interventions target it. This quantitative study sampled 10,710 and 5,333 rural-urban households with and without disabilities, respectively, randomly selected from 12 subregions of Uganda. The study applied the social model of disability, the human rights-based model and the citizenship theory because they are most relevant in this context. The social model helps to identify the social dimension of disability, which demands changes in society that are inclusive of persons with disabilities. The implementation of the principles of the human rights and the citizenship model and theory, respectively, helps to unlock the opportunities of persons with disabilities and their full potential to enable individuals with disabilities to have control over their environment. The study finds that there are glaring gaps between households with and without disabilities by rural-urban locations along the above-mentioned indicators, to the disadvantage of households with disabled members. Therefore, social workers and developers should advocate and lobby stakeholders for social change and interventions that tap the opportunities and full potential of persons with disabilities.