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New Vision (Kampala)
November 17, 2003
Posted to the web November 17, 2003
Catherine Ntabadde
Kampala
THE Norwegian Ambassador, Tore Gjos, has said the conflict in northern Uganda is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world currently but is receiving little attention.
Gjos said it was a big challenge for Uganda and development partners to end the 17-year war, which he said, was directly targeting children.
He was speaking at a two-day UNESCO-inclusive education flagship workshop at the Uganda National Institute for Special Education campus, Kyambogo University.
Gjos said the war contributed to the children's disability. He said 1.5 million people had been displaced by the war.
"Abduction, killing and mutilation of children is going on in the war. It is directly targeting children. It has destroyed the life of about 15,000 - 20,000 abducted children. We need to find solutions to this," he said.
The workshop was organised by UNESCO and the University of Oslo, Norway.
The flagship is a network of advocates of streamlining the needs and rights of people with disabilities in education programmes.
Uganda has been the first African country to host the workshop.
The state minister for primary education, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, said Uganda planned an education curriculum that would cater for the rights and needs of people with disabilities (PWDs).
She urged African governments to commit resources to PWD programmes.
"We need a curriculum that goes beyond literacy. We need to make decisions based on empirical evidence," she said.
Bitamazire said the ministry had developed a policy paper on disadvantaged learners including PWDs.
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Oslo University education officer Tone Abrahamsen said the workshop aimed at providing education to PWDs in line with providing education for all.
Abrahamsen hailed Uganda for the education offered to PWDs.
