Uganda has the unfortunate title of being one of the nations on the United Nations’ list of the least developed countries and its inclusion on the list is due to a host of interconnected reasons. This landlocked East African country was colonized by the British in the late 1800s until it gained independence in 1962 (The World Bank, 2014). Ever since it came free from Britain’s reign, the Republic of Uganda has been in the midst of a number of intermittent conflicts that have proved to be major obstacles to its development. Most recently, there has been an ongoing civil war with the Lord’s Resistance Army, causing the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of over a million residents (The World Bank, 2014). The political violence, combined with poor infrastructure, low food security, and major health issues such as HIV/AIDS has resulted in Uganda becoming one of the poorest nations in the world. This disturbing economic situation is represented by almost 40% of the Ugandan population living on a per diem of smaller than $1.25 (The World Bank, 2014). When looking at the many major developmental challenges Uganda has had to face in the past few decades since their independence, there is one in particular that stands out among the rest: rural poverty.
The Ugandan government has made great strides in reducing poverty across the nation, as the countrywide poverty rate went from 56% of the population in 1992 to just 24.5% in 2009 (The World Bank, 2014). The decrease in poverty is mainly noticeable in urban areas, while more rural areas are still entrenched in poverty (Ellis, 2003). This is a significant concern for the development of the nation, as 84% of the population lives in these rural regions (The World Bank, 2014). More...
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...Moreover, in addition to their many other tasks, rural Ugandan women have the responsibility of making sure that their families are well-fed and taking care of the sick and elderly (Okidi & Mugambe, 2002).
Of all the issues plaguing the development of this African nation, rural poverty is definitely one of the most significant, if not the tallest task to overcome. There are many reasons as to why rural poverty has become such a huge dilemma, and they are outlined above. Uganda has made considerable progress compared to other African countries in similar situations but still have a long ways to go if they are to sustain their growth and incorporate rural regions into their economic plans. Concluding, Ugandan rural poverty is an impactful issue that effects many levels of Ugandan society and must be dealt with in order for the country to thrive in the coming years.
Raffaele, Paul. "Uganda: The Horror." Smithsonian (Vol. 35, No. 11). Feb. 2005: 90-99. SIRS Issues
One of the largest issues facing the Global South today is food security. In many cases food security is closely associated with agriculture in a specific area. Due to several issues faced by post war agriculture in Sierra Leone a food security issue has arisen leading to income/consumption poverty. One of the issues facing in Sierra Leone is the number of citizens choosing to work in the mining industry as opposed to working in agriculture. Another issue faced by the agriculture industry in Sierra Leone is the displacement of many farm families due to the civil war and the affect it has on food production. The agriculture industry in Sierra Leone also faces this issue of rice importation into the country which lowers the income of farmers. These issues faced by the agriculture sector in Sierra Leone have lead to problems with food security and poverty.
"Uganda: Child Soldiers at Centre of Mounting Humanitarian Crisis." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
...n do very little about this. Uganda residents do not have the basics to survive which is simply unfair and does not allow them to live their life to their full potential.
For decades, Uganda’s economy has suffered through disappointing economic policies and instabilities. These setbacks have been put forth by a chronically unreliable government, leaving it as one of the world’s poorest countries. Uganda’s weak infrastructure and corrupt government are two of the primary constraints against a continuation of economic growth. Uganda has ongoing military involvement in the War on Congo, wrongly taking money from the already deprived country and into the war. Many villages in Uganda also have to waste their precious money and time in pursuit of hiding places. They are faced with a group known as, The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). LRA is infamous for their twenty years of massacre and slaughter in Uganda, causing an estimated 1.5 million internally displayed persons. Several people are questioning why the LRA is still terrorizing the country and criticizing the government’s commitment to putting an end this horrific group. The Inspector General of Government (IGG) ...
The country of Uganda is a struggling nation and has adversities with their living conditions, economy, and politics. Uganda uses a republic form of government. It has a mixed legal system of English common law and customary law. The country has a plethora of natural resources “including fertile soils, regular rainfall, small deposits of copper, gold, and other minerals, and recently discovered oil” (“CIA World Factbook”).The country itself has the potential to become wealthy and more powerful, but before you can access and use these resources, you first need to improve the living conditions for the people of the country. In order to do this the country is currently attempting to stabilize the economy by undertaking an economic reform. However, “unreliable power, high energy costs, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and corruption inhibit economic development and investor confidence”(CIA World Factbook). Once again, many small things need to be changed and fixed before the achievement of the final goal of improving the economy is remotely possible. Overall the...
After Years of Killing, He just wants a Normal Life with his Mum ; Tragedy of Uganda’s
United Nations Development Programme. Poverty Reduction and UNDP. New York: United Nations Development Programme, Jan. 2013. PDF.
More than $3billion people in the world which is nearly half of the world’s population are living on less than $2.50 a day and more than $1.3 billion live in extreme poverty which is less than$1.25 a day. (Unicef 2013). One third of deaths a year are cause by poverty. An estimate of 600 million children live in absolute poverty, every year more than 10 million innocent children die of hunger and PREVENTABLE diseases, such as diaorreah, pneumonia and malaria 19 million kids worldwide remain unvaccinated, even a simple net would prevent malaria. During 2011, 165 million kids under the age of 5 were stunted( reduced rate of growth and development) due to chronic malnutrition 870 million people worldwide do not have enough to eat. More than half a million women die in pregnancy and child birth every year… one death a minute. Why do we have cases of poverty in 2014? “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it’s an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man made an it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings”. Mandela (2005). It’s heart breaking that in this day and age there are children dying of hunger, and easily preventable diseases. Poverty reduction is one of the most dominant themes in current scholarship, policy formation and international discussion on economic development. A sign of it importance is shown by the fact that the very first target of the millennium development goals (MDG) is in fact to reduce the people living under $1 a day by half by 2015. Relative to this dissertation the role of economic growth in in poverty reduction is of high importance. Substantial and lasting reductions, if not complete eradication of poverty has been and will continue to b...
World Food Programme. (2013). Comprehensive food security and vulnerability analysis (CFSVA): Uganda. Retrieved from http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp256989.pdf
Poverty is not just an issue reserved for third world countries. Instead, poverty is a multifaceted issue that even the most developed nations must battle
Krishna, Anirudh, et al. "Escaping Poverty And Becoming Poor In 36 Villages Of Central And Western Uganda." Journal Of Development Studies 42.2 (2006): 346-370. Business Source Complete. Web. 20 May 2014.
In rural Nigeria, up to 80% of the population (as compared to 70% of Nigeria as a whole3) live below the poverty line, despite their fast-growing agricultural economy4. According to Nigerian author Anthony Maduagwu, it is in places such as these where we can find the solution to Nigeria's economic predicament. In his article “Alleviating poverty in Nigeria”, he says, “only the poor understands poverty and it is also the poor that know how their poverty could be alleviated... the fact is that the poor usually have quite good perceptions of their own needs and goals and of what would be required to satisfy and make progress toward them”5. He made the case that while government-funded “poverty alleviating programmes” help poverty rates in one place, the create poverty in another6. This is supported b...
...earch and extension, rural infrastructure, and market access for small farmers. Rural investments have been sorely neglected in recent decades, and now is the time to reverse this trend. Farmers in many developing countries are operating in an environment of inadequate infrastructure like roads, electricity, and communications; poor soils; lack of storage and processing capacity; and little or no access to agricultural technologies that could increase their profits and improve their livelihoods. Recent unrest over food prices in a number of countries may tempt policymakers to put the interests of urban consumers over those of rural people, including farmers, but this approach would be shortsighted and counterproductive. Given the scale of investment needed, aid donors should also expand development assistance to agriculture, rural services, and science and technology.