In Uganda, conditions in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) remain the primary drivers of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 60 percent of years of life lost. The high burden of these conditions can be attributed to a poor quality of care resulting from inadequate financial, human, and …
Mobile technologies could help to improve service delivery to smallholder farmers, but whether such services are fulfilling their potential remains poorly understood. To address this gap, this article presents an exploratory literature review regarding the impact of mobile phone-enabled services on farmers in developing countries. The review highlights a dearth …
A rise in adult obesity levels in the East Africa’s urban centres are taking a toll on efforts to tackle malnutrition, while undernourishment rates also remain a major concern. Recent regional estimates by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) show figures for adult overweight rates for most countries …
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni declined to sign a bill into law which allows genetically modified organisms (GMO) into the country, a parliament spokesperson said Friday. Chris Obore, spokesperson of the Ugandan parliament, told Xinhua by telephone on Friday that Museveni has returned the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill 2017 to …
China is reducing the import tax on donkey skins for use in traditional medicine despite fears over a global reduction in the animal's population. From Monday, the tax will fall from 5% to 2%, making imports cheaper. Gelatine made from donkey skin is highly prized in China and purchases of …
The objective of the assessment is to analyse the agricultural and rural sector of Uganda from a gender perspective at the macro (policy), meso (institutional) and micro (community and household) levels in order to identify gender inequalities in access to critical productive resources, assets, services and opportunities. In particular, the …
Uganda and Kenya are among seven African countries carrying out large-scale clinical trials of a long-lasting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in sexually active women. The trials, called HPTN 084 and sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health, will also be conducted in Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, South Africa and Zimbabwe …
According to the district health inspector Emmanuel Ekodeu, out of the 309 villages in the district, only 143 have toilet facilities and 64.3 percent have after toilet hand washing facilities. 166 villages in Soroti district are on the verge of being hit by diseases related to poor faucal disposal due …
The maiden Conference of Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury took place in Geneva on September 24-29. The Convention is an international legal instrument or Treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The Convention currently has been …
After an afternoon drizzle, Ephraim Muhereza carefully scouts his three-acre banana plantation in Gayaza, Wakiso district, plucking male buds from trees. This will stop his plants from catching the notorious banana bacterial wilt, which has destroyed many farms in Uganda. “We have been told that to reduce the spread of …
Dr Ronald Semyalo, a hydrobiologist, says the lake is in danger of dying due to leakage of fertiliser, pesticides and industrial waste into its waters, adding that more needs to be done to ensure the lake survives for future generations. Fish catchers, processors, traders and government officials involved in Uganda’s …
The project which is being implemented in 21 districts from South Western and Eastern Uganda, is Uganda’s first Green Climate Fund-financed initiative and is a response to the Presidential Initiative on Wetlands. Two years after Uganda’s independence, the total area of our wetlands was estimated at 32,000km2 but by 1999, …
Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among the 15 countries accounting for about 80 per cent of malaria deaths globally in 2016, says the World Malaria Report 2017. The other countries in Africa with a high incidence of malaria cases and deaths are Ethiopia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan …
Jinja — More than 3,000 residents living in Butagaya Forest Reserve in Jinja District have defied a directive by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) to vacate, arguing that they have not been given alternative areas of settlement. Last week, the National Forestry Authority (NFA) issued a 30-day notice to the …
Results of a landmark study on the cost of a gender gap in agricultural productivity reveal a worrying trend that is bound to impact on Africa’s structural transformation according to a report showcased on the sidelines of the 2017 African Economic Conference held at the UN Conference Centre in Addis …
Experts want to give people a chance to choose what they prefer to grow and to eat. Maizeseedsfinal 703x422 The National Agriculture Resources Researches Institute (NaCCRI) has embarked on setting up community seed banks to conserve the indigenous seed varieties. Dr Barbra Zawedde, a researcher at the institute, said it …
The destroyers of forests seem to have read from a similar script in different parts of Uganda. First, a complaint comes up over unclear boundaries and people in the vicinity of the forest claim ownership over part of the land under forest. Secondly, they sue the National Forestry Authority (NFA) …
To mitigate the effects of climate change, government, through the Environment ministry, is set to operationalise the ‘Tree Fund’. The initiative directed at regenerating the country’s forest cover and drying wetlands will also help curb greenhouse gas emissions, a major factor driving climate changes, which are threatening the country’s ecosystems. …
Climate change has large influences on agriculture and thus food security, which remains heavily dependent on rainfall over Eastern Africa Community (EAC). This study sought to explore the spatial effects of climate change on agricultural production in five countries in EAC, namely Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. The climate …
Increasing agricultural production is crucial to securing food and more foreign exchange through trade. Therefore, it is important to put in place policies and strategies that promote good agricultural practices such as use of improved technologies, soil and water conservation techniques among farmers to shield them against impacts of extreme …
To assess the effect of a combination strategy for prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on the incidence of HIV infection, researchers analyzed the association between the incidence of HIV and the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and medical male circumcision in Rakai, Uganda. Changes in population-level viral-load suppression and …
