Across the East African Community, millions of persons with disabilities navigate daily life in the shadow of policies that have not kept pace with their realities. Last week, that began to change.The Ministry of East African Community Affairs (MEACA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (MoGLSD), convened a high-level consultative meeting in Kampala on June 22, to review the EAC Policy on Persons with Disabilities and explore stronger mechanisms for disability-inclusive development across the region.

This meeting drew representatives of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), government ministries, development partners, and disability advocates all gathered to assess how far the policy has come, and how much further it needs to go.Opening remarks were delivered by representatives of Persons with Disabilities, MoGLSD, and MEACA, before Mr. Sebina Edward, Commissioner for Social Affairs, officially opened the session on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of MEACA. 

He set the tone early, underscoring that regional cooperation is not optional when it comes to advancing the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities ,it is essential.Central to the day's discussions was the EAC Policy on Persons with Disabilities itself, whose roots run deep into the EAC Treaty. Article 120(c) calls on Partner States to adopt a common approach towards disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities. In contrast, Article 102(2) emphasizes collaboration in providing education and training for people with special needs. 

These provisions laid the groundwork for what would eventually become a landmark regional framework.The policy's origins trace back to December 2009, when the first Meeting of Experts on Persons with Disabilities convened in Kampala. That gathering gave Partner States a platform to review national disability policies and legislation, assess the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and identify gaps in disability inclusion across development programs.

More than a decade later, the progress is real. The EAC Policy on Persons with Disabilities stands as one of the Community's significant achievements. This framework recognizes the roles, contributions, and potential of persons with disabilities in the development process. It seeks to strengthen community-based support systems, promote access to rehabilitation, education, and vocational training, harmonize disability interventions across Partner States, protect disability rights as human rights, encourage research, and ensure the self-representation of persons with disabilities in public decision-making.

But recognition alone is not enough, and participants were clear-eyed about the work that remains. Stakeholders engaged in detailed discussions on the Monitoring and Evaluation Tool on the State of Disability in the EAC and reviewed implementation of the policy to date. The consensus was firm: without robust monitoring mechanisms, it is impossible to track progress, identify gaps, or make evidence-based decisions.

Presentations from the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development, the Ministry of Education and Sports, and the Ministry of Health brought the national picture into focus, outlining sector-specific interventions to improve access to education, healthcare, social protection, and economic opportunities for persons with disabilities in Uganda.In a plenary session, participants identified priority areas for policy review and proposed concrete recommendations. 

These centered on enhancing policy implementation, improving accessibility and inclusion, strengthening data collection and monitoring systems, and critically ensuring that persons with disabilities are not merely consulted, but are meaningful participants in the decisions that shape their lives.The meeting closed with a collective commitment to keep pushing. The recommendations generated will feed directly into the ongoing review of the EAC Policy on Persons with Disabilities, a reminder that in the region's development agenda, no one should be left behind.