The Chairperson of the Union of Persons with Disabilities in South Sudan, Augustino Wudu Elario, has called on the national government to allocate a clearly defined budget to support persons with disabilities, warning that failure to do so risks deepening poverty and inequality.
Speaking during the public hearing of the 2025/26 budget at the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Wudu questioned whether the government had set aside specific financial provisions for disability-related programs. He emphasized that despite South Sudan’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in February 2023, tangible progress remains limited.
Wudu noted that most persons with disabilities in the country live in extreme poverty and continue to face barriers in accessing education, employment, healthcare, and mobility services. He stressed that the issue should not be viewed as charity, but rather as a legal obligation under international and national frameworks.
He urged the government to allocate funds for assistive devices such as white canes, hearing aids, mobility equipment, and to support rehabilitation and hearing centers. He also called for targeted economic empowerment programs to enable entrepreneurship among persons with disabilities.
In response, Undersecretary of Planning in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Benjamin Aliya Koyongwa, stated that while there is no specific allocation exclusively for persons with disabilities, funds are distributed to ministries that address various vulnerable groups. He encouraged the union to engage directly with relevant institutions for clarity on program implementation.
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