Parents celebrate with one of the persons with disabilities in at Gulu Disabled Persons Union during graduation. Photos by Simon Wokorach
By Simon Wokorach
Gulu: When Judith Anena, a youth with hearing impairment went to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital due to abdominal pain, she waited longer because there was no sign language interpreter.
“I moved straight to the [doctor’s] desk while holding my abdomen. He assumed that I was pregnant and sent me for admission to the maternity ward,” said Anena, a 29-year-old.
Anena spent part of her day waiting for a gynecologist in the maternity ward. Because of the lack of sign language, Anena could not explain to the nurse at the maternity ward that her abdominal pain wasn’t pregnancy-related.
“I knew the nurse was lost, but she wanted to help me. I held her hand and we moved to her room where I showed her where the pain started,” Anena explained.
A laboratory test later confirmed that Anena was suffering from a urinary tract infection, and was discharged from the hospital after hours of wrong admission.
Anena is among the hundreds of persons with hearing impairment who find challenges accessing medical and other public services due to limited sign-language interpreters.
During an interview with our reporter through an interpreter, Anena further explained that many persons with hearing impairment are still ignorant of preventive measures for common sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.
“Some of my friends are living positively with HIV but they don’t even know how they contracted the disease,” Anena said.
The unfair and limited education facilities in Uganda for persons with disabilities such as those with hearing impairment, mean many are not enrolled in school. Their inability to read and write makes them more vulnerable to sexual abuse and prone to sexually transmitted infections.
Nancy Adong, a counselor and a sign-language interpreter attached to Taso Gulu Care Centre, stated that communication gaps among people with hearing impairment are a great form of discrimination.
Adong argued that if the government bothered about equity in healthcare services for persons with hearing impairment, they would emphasize strengthening communication through sign language.
She advised that the recruitment of sign language personnel in both private and public health facilities would help break the barriers to communication in service delivery.
She explained that while a few people with hearing impairment send her text messages asking for help when stuck in health facilities, many don’t have access to sign-language interpreters.
Francesca Aceng, a Senior Nursing Assistant at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, described managing patients with hearing impairment as challenging.
“If you don’t notice them from the line for being exceptionally quiet, and if he or she comes without an interpreter, it means there will be a delay for such a person for treatment because we don’t have interpreters,” Aceng noted.
Aceng estimates that the hospital receives between 6 to 10 patients with hearing impairment seeking treatment weekly.
There were 1.08 million people in Uganda with hearing impairment, according to the 2014 National Population and Housing Census. Statistics on people with hearing impairment in Gulu weren’t available at the time of filing this story.
Training on basic sign language
Patrick Ojok, the Centre Program Coordinator for Gulu Disabled Persons’ Union, acknowledged the gap in communicating with persons with hearing impairment is not only in the healthcare sector but all social services.
Ojok explained that at the moment those with hearing impairment in need of social services have to hire a sign-language interpreter, with costs varying according to how far the interpreter will travel to meet the client.
Our reporter paid a sign-language interpreter shs 10,000 for a 30-minute interview between him and Anena.
The majority of persons with disability are already financially incapacitated, and may not afford such charges.
Ojok noted that the biggest challenges the health facilities face are during emergencies, where medics often fail to understand the client for immediate responses.
He revealed that the Union has lost a number of its members due to communication barriers and the recent death of an expectant mother with hearing impairment in one of the hospitals in Gulu.
Ojok revealed that the Union has launched a free basic course on sign language, targeting institutions of learning, police, army, prison, and courts to help support those who seek the services of sign-language interpreters.
Gov’t plans to recruit sign-language interpreters
Walter Uryek-Wun, the Principal Administrator at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital confirmed that the lack of a sign-language interpreter at the hospital impedes access to medical care by people with hearing impairment.
Oryek-Wun, however, revealed in the recruitment structure for the 2024/2025 financial year, 101 personnel will be recruited at the hospital, with at least one sign language interpreter.
He said the planned recruitment with a proposed wage bill of shs6.5bn seeks to address gaps in the lack of specialists, consultants, and senior positions for improving health care services in the hospital.
“The hospital needs 1,950 staff for its normal function, but we are still operating below 50% and we hope that the government will now commit itself to addressing the resource gaps,” Uryek-Wun added.
