Uganda’s new food aid system has locked out 42% of households with people with disabilities, according to fresh research from Humanity & Inclusion. The World Food Programme’s revised categorisation rules mean nearly half of these families now receive nothing.
Phone credit becomes survival currency
Without mobile connectivity, these excluded families can’t challenge decisions or track aid distributions. A father with cerebral palsy in Kampala’s Kisenyi settlement told researchers he missed three appeal deadlines because he couldn’t afford phone credit to call the WFP helpline. His family of five went without food parcels for two months. Digital exclusion directly translates to hunger when bureaucratic systems move online.
WFP categories create new barriers
The programme’s tightened eligibility criteria particularly hit households where disability affects work capacity. Officials now require extensive documentation that many refugees with disabilities cannot provide or navigate. Phone access becomes critical for understanding new requirements, booking assessment appointments, and following up on applications. Without it, families with disabilities fall through administrative cracks that weren’t there before.
Mobile credit can’t replace food aid, but it enables people with disabilities to fight for what they’re owed. CFH’s phone credit helps refugees with disabilities stay connected to the systems that determine whether their families eat.