MPs, CSOs Warn Of Social Protection Gaps In Shs84 Trillion National Budget Despite Human Capital Gains

By Ben Musanje

Members of Parliament under the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection (UPFSP), together with civil society organizations working in the disability and social protection sector, have welcomed increased investment in Human Capital Development in the Shs84 trillion national budget for the Financial Year 2026/27, while warning that persistent underfunding and stalled policy commitments continue to expose vulnerable groups to poverty and exclusion.

The concerns were raised during a post–National Budget reading press conference held at Kingdom Kampala building on 12th June 2026, following the budget presentation by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Henry Musasizi on behalf of the Head of State in line with Article 155 of the Constitution of Uganda.

During the press conference, the joint statement was read by Rukiga County MP in Kigezi sub region, Patrick Kiconco Katabazi, the Chairperson of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection (UPFSP), on behalf of MPs and partner civil society organizations including the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Persons with Disabilities (UPFPWD), and Uganda National Action on Physical Disability (UNAPD).

The MPs and CSO partners noted that the Shs84 trillion budget allocates Shs13.56 trillion to Human Capital Development (HCD), covering education, health, water and sanitation, and social protection. This represents approximately 16 percent of the total national budget.

They welcomed this allocation, describing it as a continued recognition that sustainable development depends on investment in people, and emphasizing that Uganda’s development trajectory would remain constrained if citizens are not adequately healthy, educated, and protected from social and economic shocks.

However, the stakeholders expressed concern that within the HCD allocation, social protection receives only Shs173.55 billion, which represents just 1.3 percent of the total Human Capital Development budget. They argued that this level of financing remains insufficient given the scale of poverty, disability, ageing, child vulnerability, and climate-related shocks affecting communities across the country.

A key positive highlight noted in the budget is the allocation of Shs15.5 billion for a Child Disability Benefit. MPs and CSOs described this as an important milestone in recognizing that children with disabilities face additional costs related to care, transport, assistive devices, and specialized support services.

They observed that the intervention has the potential to improve school attendance, access to healthcare, and overall wellbeing for children with disabilities, thereby strengthening Uganda’s broader human capital outcomes. However, they stressed that the current allocation should be viewed as an initial step requiring progressive expansion.

At the same press conference held at Kingdom Kampala Building on Friday, the Executive Director of the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), Esther Kyozira, emphasized the need for sustained annual increases in funding for the Child Disability Benefit.

She explained that government introduced the programme on a pilot basis to test targeting mechanisms and implementation systems, but noted that it should be progressively expanded in future budgets. She further indicated that, based on Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) data and other national studies on children with disabilities, the magnitude of need remains significantly high.

She argued that consistent annual increments in funding would ensure measurable improvements in the lives of children with disabilities and their families by 2030, noting that without scaling up, the current interventions would remain limited in reach and impact.

On the Senior Citizens Grant, MPs and CSOs expressed concern that the programme remains funded at Shs121 billion, supporting approximately 305,000 older persons aged 80 years and above. They noted that although Cabinet previously approved a policy decision to reduce the eligibility age from 80 years to 65 years and to increase the monthly grant from Shs25,000 to Shs35,000 starting FY2026/27, the budget does not include the additional Shs252 billion required to implement the expansion.

Kiconco warned that failure to fund this expansion effectively leaves the majority of older persons aged 65 years and above without pension coverage, thereby increasing their vulnerability to poverty and economic insecurity.

The stakeholders also highlighted long-standing gaps in other areas of social protection. They pointed to what they described as six years of non-compliance with Cabinet Minute 62 (CT2019), which directed allocation of Shs3.0 billion to the Street Children Intervention Programme. They observed that the FY2026/27 allocation remains at only Shs0.024 billion, which represents just 0.7 percent of the approved Cabinet figure, effectively indicating near non-funding of the programme.

Further concern was raised over the Social Development Grant, which has remained stagnant at Shs7.6 billion for five consecutive financial years. The MPs and CSOs noted that this stagnation has significantly constrained Community Based Services operations at district level, especially in newly created districts such as Terego and Obongi, where staffing levels remain as low as three officers responsible for managing a wide range of social protection responsibilities, including gender-based violence case management, child protection referrals, Senior Citizens Grant monitoring, Parish Development Model oversight, and community reporting systems.

They warned that such staffing constraints weaken service delivery and reduce the effectiveness of national social protection programmes at grassroots level.

The Forum and partners further raised concern over the weak integration between social protection systems and national shock-response financing mechanisms. They noted that although Shs494 billion has been allocated for Environment and Climate Change safeguards, alongside a separate Shs361 billion contingency fund, there remains no structured mechanism linking these resources to social protection programmes such as the Senior Citizens Grant, which could otherwise be scaled up automatically during climate-related disasters such as floods and droughts.

They argued that this disconnect limits the country’s ability to build a shock-responsive social protection system capable of responding quickly and efficiently to emergencies affecting vulnerable populations.

The stakeholders also pointed to the lack of integration between social protection and large-scale wealth creation programmes. They noted that Shs2.49 trillion has been allocated to wealth creation initiatives, including the Parish Development Model (PDM), aimed at accelerating economic monetization and household income growth.

They recommended that contributory social security systems should be embedded within such programmes to expand coverage, particularly for workers in the informal sector, who remain largely outside formal pension and insurance schemes.

In conclusion, the MPs and CSOs welcomed government efforts to invest in Human Capital Development but maintained that Uganda’s social protection system remains underfunded, fragmented, and insufficiently linked to other development financing frameworks.

They stressed that social protection plays a critical role in strengthening outcomes in education, health, and economic productivity, and argued that without increased and predictable financing, gains in human capital development may not be fully realized or sustained.

They reiterated that Uganda cannot build strong human capital on a weak foundation and called for increased investment in social protection as a means of securing long-term development. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).