County covernments have cumulatively budgeted Sh216.6 million to assist Persons With Disabilities cope with the effects of Covid-19 pandemic during the 2020-21 financial year.
The Council of Governors said the amount represents an increase of Sh80.73 million or 59.4 per cent jump compared to what was set aside in the last financial year.
“On average, each county has budgeted to spend Sh4.61 million on programming for PWDs in the 2020-21 financial year,” CoG said in a memorandum to the Senate Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration.
CoG stated said the expenditures have been targeted at alleviating the situation for PWDs during the pandemic.
The committee had requested counties to outline measures put in place and budgetary allocation by for PWDs during the Covid-19 period.
The council said the counties have been procuring and distributing appropriate protective equipment (face masks, hand sanitiser and assorted sanitation equipment) and providing relief food packages assistive devices to PWDs.
“County governments have enhanced access to bursary and scholarship funds to learners in colleges and high schools and the children occasionally linked for specialised physiological services,” CoG added.
The national prevalence rate of disabilities is 2.2 per cent, with the total number of persons with disabilities in Kenya being 918,270. Out of the 918,270 persons with disability, 523,883 are female, while 394,330 are male.
Female PWDs outnumber men in visual, hearing, mobility, cognition and self-care disabilities but male PWDs outnumber female PWDs only in communication disabilities.
There are six main categories of disabilities recognised in Kenya: visual, hearing, mobility, cognition, self-care and communication disabilities.
The most prevalent types of disabilities are mobility disability and visual disability and they account for 65.5 per cent prevalence of all disabilities in the country.