Millions of Ugandans denied vital services over digital ID cards

A woman waits for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Western Uganda. Uganda planned to make digital IDs a requirement for receiving Covid-19 vaccines until it was challenged in a lawsuit by ISER and Unwanted Witness, another local advocacy group and the report’s second co-author. — AP

KAMPALA: Millions of Ugandans struggle to access vital public services and entitlements as they lack digital identity cards, six years after they were introduced, human rights groups said on June 8.

Government data shows that a quarter of Ugandan adults, or 4.5 million people, did not have a biometric identity card in 2020, with pregnant women being turned away from health centres and old people unable to claim welfare payments, they said.