Adult diaper shortage exposes need for research before tax

If you are caring for an elderly person in Uganda today, there are many challenges you face.

You may have to take time off work to care for an elderly person and there is no pay for it, or you may need the services of a live-in nurse.

Both options are expensive and almost out of reach for most people. Thus, elderly people who usually do not have sufficient sources of income live lives without dignity, often looking for food and other things they need in their lives. The politicians who claim to represent the citizens are largely out of touch.

The example of diapers that elderly people need to live a dignified life is an example. Last year, Parliament passed nappy taxes. MPs voted with unprecedented euphoria and many argued that they were doing so to prevent homosexuals from using them.

No data was presented to show that the majority of adult diapers were being used by homosexuals. But nothing unites politicians in Uganda than homosexuality!

Anyone who argued otherwise was branded a supporter of homosexuality or having been paid by “imperialists” in Western capitals to corrupt the minds of Ugandans. If you are taking care of an elderly person today, you would have noticed that you are spending a lot of time going from shop to shop in Kikuubo in search of adult diapers.

With the increase in taxes, the merchants who supplied them have switched to more profitable products or closed their businesses altogether. Those who carry them raised prices to cover the tax increase, but they are also bringing smaller sizes and slightly lower qualities than before the taxes were imposed.

Those who haven’t moved, are doing what they are doing to keep their businesses open. Who would blame them? A diaper that’s too small is not only uncomfortable, it’s also said to cause ulcers. If you’ve ever cared for a sick person, bed sores are some of the most painful and stubborn things to deal with.

Caregivers want to do anything in the world to avoid them, but the undersized diapers used by seniors today will create a massive health problem. And to make matters worse, the traders do not contribute enough quantities. Today, senior diapers can be reserved by paying in advance, and there is no telling when they will be available.

For some merchants, they don’t even let you reserve much, so everyone gets it. Of course, the war in the Middle East may also be responsible for the delay in shipping containers, but the main reasons Kikuubo traders attribute to the shortage of adult diapers is the increase in taxes.

Who knew that because of our lack of research before raising taxes, seniors who are lucky enough to afford pampering will have to use rationed ones? But this is where we are. Today, those who care for the elderly spend more money on shoes as they make holes in the soles while looking for pampering instead of finding money to buy them and pay for medical consultations and prescribed medicines.

I think parliament has the power to correct the mistake they made when they argued that adult mimes encouraged homosexuality because some of them realized their mistakes. I remember watching a clip where a Member of Parliament after failing to get diapers for her mother admitted to having mistakenly voted for the adult diaper law.

Since to err is human, we should not blame MPs when they admit their mistake and continue to correct it. Because that’s the right thing to do.

But also, these glaring errors are avoidable by parliament and all arms of government if informed by data rather than emotion before making key decisions. It shouldn’t be that difficult for the parliamentary inquiry group to find out who buys the most adult nappies and for what purpose.

The ministries of finance, gender and health should also have this information. But the right thing to do to ensure seniors live in dignity is to eliminate the increase in taxes on diapers while supporting local manufacturers to make them here.

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The writer is a communications and visibility consultant.