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SUMMARY:Policy of No Policy: Disability and Technology Translation Dilemma
 s in Uganda  - Dr Herbert Muyinda\, Makerere University
DTSTART:20181022T160000Z
DTEND:20181022T170000Z
UID:TALK111472@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Victoria Jones
DESCRIPTION:Globally\, technology is considered to be a means to finding s
 olutions to problem(s)\, and for impaired bodies\, it is meant to compensa
 te for the non-functionality or loss of part(s) of a body. In most Sub-Sah
 aran countries\, assistive technologies are characterized by scarcity\; a 
 gap between what governments can provide in the public health facilities\,
  and what persons with disabilities need. The African governments have for
  long been reluctant\, despite adequate evidence\, to come up with policie
 s that can help fill the healthcare gap\; a political ambivalence I refer 
 to as ‘policy of no policy’. Most technologies used in the developing 
 countries are made in the developed (western) world\, and due to scarcity\
 , developing countries tend to take all forms of technologies ‘thrown’
  to them. This technology gets deeply entangled with institutional and pol
 itical\, moral\, ethical\, and professional processes\, to the detriment o
 f every day needs and hopes of disabled persons and their families. This n
 ot only leads to unforeseen and often severe consequences including second
 ary disabilities\, it forces persons with disabilities into dilemmas of ho
 w to adapt the western assistive technologies. Basing on extensive field r
 esearch in Uganda\, in this paper I will examine the critical issue of tra
 nslating technologies by persons with disabilities in the context of ‘po
 licy of no policy’\, and the dilemmas involved. I will argue that the te
 ndency for many Sub-Saharan countries including Uganda to resort to the po
 licy of ‘no policy’ as a strategy to deal with the healthcare gaps\, m
 akes the process of translating technologies by persons with disabilities\
 , and other vulnerable persons a dilemma. In the process the existent comp
 etences of the target populations are disregarded\, leaving potentially hi
 ghly promising solutions unutilized.
LOCATION:Seminar Room S1 Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge
  CB3 9DT
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