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Overview
HCU will endeavour to influence
the environment and effect change in the
circumstances that lead and keep PLWHAS,
and their families in abject ill health
and vicious poverty. This will include support
to highlight and link local social protection
promotion agendas at a policy level to support
increased government responsiveness to the
needs and realities of PLWHAs and their
families. In addition the initiative will
support the development at national level
of a strategy to advocate for an integrated
policy supporting PLWHAs.
HCU also intends to advocate for enactment
and effective implementation of laws and
policies against child labour including
strict observance of international conventions
to which the government of Uganda is a signatory.
The initiative will also support the orientation
of law enforcement agencies.
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.. . . .Community
gathering at Local Council meeting
Problem
Statement
“The most frequent cited cause of
poverty is ill-health and disease.”
Says the UPPAP’s (Uganda Participatory
Poverty Assessment Project under Ministry
of Finance and Economic Planning) research
findings on deepening the understanding
of poverty. “Time lost when sick and
for women especially, time spent taking
care of the sick, reduces productivity while
the cost of care uses up savings and leads
to sale of assets. HIV/AIDS continues to
feature highly among the causes of poor
health. According to an old women in Butema
Village in Bugiri, ‘The children and
we the parents fall sick and we have to
spend the few savings on treatment, only
to recover after the planting season, then
poverty increases in the household.’
”
(Source: Ministry of Finance and Economic
Planning, UPPAP[Uganda Participatory Poverty
Assessment Process]. 2nd Participatory Poverty
Assessment, PPA2)
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Goal &
Development Objective
The goal of
the Research and Advocacy programme is marginalised
people-groups enjoying freedom of speech
and the right to be heard, reduced vulnerability,
improved security. The development objective
of the programme is to empower vulnerable,
special interest people-groups with information
in an enabling social environment (more
supportive and cohesive).
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Expected
Outcomes
The expected value that will accrue from
research and advocacy include, among others:
• Increased awareness about individual
rights especially gender-based
• Access to information for those
who need it.
• People-centric policy reform at
both government and community level
Categories
of Vulnerable People-Groups
(Source: Ministruy of Finance & Economic
Planning, Uganda Participatory Poverty Process
Assessment)
Landless or near landless
Many local people, especially in rural areas,
emphasised the importance of land as a productive
asset. Consultations revealed that without
adequate arable land for cultivation and
pasture, as well as for constructing homes
in urban areas, vulnerability to poverty
results. Lack of land affects production,
food security, income-generation, and was
said to limit general household well-being
and development of not only this generation
but also future generations.
Analysis: Local people’s
definitions of poverty and well-being can
provide indicators for monitoring changes
in poverty. The broad range of indicators
identified suggests that the use of composite
indicators may give a more accurate measure
of poverty than simple indicators of income
and expenditure. Several of the quantitative
indicators cited are currently used in Ugandan
welfare and household surveys. Other useful
indicators of a more qualitative nature
have emerged from the UPPAP consultations,
and these may be used to enrich existing
indicators.
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Casual labourers
Casual labourers, particularly those working
within their own communities, survive marginally
and are considered of low social status.
Remuneration in cash or food is low, irregular
and unreliable. They are, therefore, vulnerable
to both material and social poverty. Men,
women and children are forced to adopt this
livelihood as a means of survival because
their own production and income are insufficient
to support the basic needs of the household.
Those depending on a single source of income
or who lack a source of income
Lack of sufficient income to satisfy the
basic requirements of the household, and
dependence on one source of income increases
vulnerability of households to poverty.
Local people quoted examples of the small-scale
farmers in Kapchorwa and Kumi who depend
on one crop for sale, which is highly labour-intensive
and of low economic value.
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Women
From consultations in the 36 communities,
it was revealed that many women do not have
limited opportunities for social and economic
development due to their role in society
and their relationships with men. These
restrictions vary regionally and revolve
around women’s low status, mistreatment
by men in the home, discrimination outside
the home, lack of ownership and access to
assets, low participation in decision-making,
and high workload.
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Widows
Consultations confirmed that widows and
their families - primarily those with few
assets and with several children - are vulnerable
to increasing poverty. Widows are often
not allowed to head the household and are
generally not highly regarded, in addition
to being regarded as property in those districts
where bride price is heavily entrenched.
In some cultures, women are not able to
inherit property. Grabbing of the husband’s
property by in-laws, clan members or elder
children often propels widows into poverty,
as illustrated by the following quote.
When my husband was alive 5 years ago,
we had 25 goats, 2 big turkeys and 1 chicken.
By then I had 4 children. My husband and
I worked hard, very hard indeed, to acquire
the 5 acres of land that enabled us to produce
some good amounts of food. We were able
to pay school fees, dress our children and
so on. But soon after his death, Hhmmm…,
my in-laws began to grab what we had. They
took them one by one until I was left with
only one acre of land! They refused even
to pay school fees for my children. With
those hardships, I had to leave the home.
I am now struggling on my own with 5 children.
My relatives are so poor that they cannot
help me.
Widow, Chokwe, Moyo
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Man without a wife
Widowers, particularly those with children
and few productive assets, often found it
difficult to cater for themselves and to
take on domestic responsibilities. Such
men found it easier to search for another
woman to do the chores, but this also led
to more expense. Others resorted to alcohol,
loosing everything.
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Orphans and neglected children
All communities raised the issue of the
care of orphans. They often lack social
recognition, have no assistance and cannot
meet their basic needs, and may be neglected
or mistreated, as described below. If they
are forced onto the streets to survive,
such as cases in Kisoro (the maibobos),
Kotido and Kampala (street kids), they may
be in physical danger, or treated as a threat
to the security of others, which increases
their vulnerability. Other children whose
parents have failed to cater for their basic
needs may also be forced onto the streets
or to seek employment at an early age.
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Youth and the Elderly
Old age was a cause of increasing individual
poverty. As illustrated in Testimony 2.1,
when people become older and too weak for
productive work, they must rely on the goodwill
of others to survive – remittances
from children, assistance from relatives
and neighbours, and exchanging what they
have in return for food or labour. If they
have no support, then they become isolated
and helpless. Breakdown of the extended
family system was also raised by the elderly
as a problem, especially in Kampala. Death
is seen as a blessing for the very poor
when they are aged.
As orphans, when the father
dies, the relatives take the land and other
family property on the pretext that they
will support you. The pretext lasts a few
weeks or months and then the mistreatment
starts. You are forced to move from one
relative to another. Eventually, you drop
out of school because no one is interested
in looking after you. Some others (female
orphans) resort to getting married, but
when you get a drunkard, that’s the
end of you.
Youth, Iboa, Moyo
We are not happy if we are not staying with
our mothers. She may have died or left your
father. You are beaten and some are burnt.
Some of these children run away from such
homes and go on the streets and become beggars.
The streets are dangerous for them, they
are beaten and sometimes they die.
Testimony 2.1: Simon Omya,
an old man considered the poorest in Oladot
village, Kumi
Born in Oladot parish, Simon does not know
the year in which he was born. But he knows
that he was baptized in 1948 as a Catholic.
He got married when he was quite a big man,
so he says. His parents and wife died before
Independence. The relatives of the father
took all the land and left him with nothing.
Following is his testimony: I have completely
nothing and have possessed nothing since
my father died. My wife died a long time
ago. We did not have any children. I am
illiterate- I have never entered a class,
although I learnt a lot about religion in
Mukongoro. Ever since my land was taken,
I just eat from neighbours' places, and
sleep in other people's homes. Now that
I am old, I just beg since I cannot do anything.
I cannot even dig!
I am the poorest of all. I just beg. I eat
once a day. Sometimes when nobody gives
me food, I just borrow cassava to roast
and sleep. If nobody gives anything, I sleep
without food. I have no wife and children
to help to cultivate like most of the other
people in the village. As for drinking water,
I just go to the well to drink. Sometimes
I go with a small jerrycan to carry some
water home. I also bathe from the well.
Not where they draw water from, but the
running water beside the well.
Poverty is very difficult. I am growing
old now and it is becoming worse. If I fall
sick I just stay like that (untreated),
like a dog! Nobody can help me. I cannot
even use herbs because the sickness completely
puts me down. I stay bedridden until the
sickness is cured by itself. There is nobody
who helps me apart from God. I think God
should take me.
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The disabled
The disabled are vulnerable because they
often cannot work effectively and must survive
on goodwill (Testimony 2.2). They may also
be socially isolated. In most districts,
disabled women were said to be able to marry
in order to survive, while men were precluded
from doing so. However, in Bushenyi, disabled
women are stigmatised and could not marry,
therefore they could not access productive
assets.
Analysis: The reliance of the elderly on
social networks emphasizes the importance
of designing interventions that build on
existing social capital, and linking these
to other avenues for development.
Testimony 2.2: Esther Dyphas –
disabled widow in Sismach, Kapchorwa
My husband passed away in 1989 and after
that a brother of my late husband looked
after me. In 1996, when I went to fetch
firewood, I cut a tree, which fell on me
instead. I was discovered later in the afternoon
when unconscious-with head injuries and
rushed to the dispensary at the trading
centre 3km from here.
The dispensary could not do much and they
rushed me to Kapchorwa Hospital where I
… stayed the whole night. The following
day is when I had so much pain. The doctor
explained that I could be paralysed in the
back and legs… I was later referred
to Mulago Hospital and taken in Mbale Ambulance
vehicle with one nurse and I stayed there
in plaster for 2 months. I was discharged
with bandages… Mulago Hospital also
gave me a wheelchair. I left the hospital
in early 1997. Previously (before the accident),
I had been buying and selling produce to
get some school fees for children and also
cultivating land left by my late husband.
I was also planting … during the second
season, and vegetables … for children
to eat and I would sell some to buy sugar
and salt. Now it is very difficult especially
as my daughter is in P7. Last year she was
not able to sit for exams; we could not
pay any exam fees. Even now she has not
registered and she is becoming very big.
I was advised to eat soft food and eggs
but these are very hard for me to get. Also
feeding habits of children have changed…
These days they demand too much. And also
demands from school for school items are
a big problem… There is some small
land where the children have tried to cultivate
beans and maize and this is where we are
getting some little money.
Of the five children (aged 4 – 14),
UPE is sponsoring four, so the issue of
school fees is not there. They would have
planted more for this season but they have
to go to school. This is the only thing
that the family is surviving on. No one
has ever brought a dress since I got the
accident. Now I have no hope and I cannot
plan for the future. However, I was encouraged
by doctors in Mulago not to be desperate
because the government can assist e.g. with
a loan.
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The sick
Those who have chronic illnesses are vulnerable
because they are unable to work. Household
resources dwindle as they are used to hire
labour and/or to cover medical expenses,
at times leading to increased poverty. Such
households often rely on the assistance
of others. In the cases of those with HIV/AIDS
in more isolated communities, such as the
islands of Kalangala, they were “isolated
by the community hence lacking any form
of support”.
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Displaced and refugees
Civil strife in the North and the East,
as well as wars in neighbouring countries
have lead to another category of people
vulnerable to poverty, as reported in Moyo,
Kabarole and Kisoro. These are the refugees
and the displaced. Such people leave their
assets behind, and must make a new start
in a community in which the local people
and the law may marginalise them.
People living in areas prone to natural
and man-made calamities
Victims of drought, earthquakes, floods,
landslides and other natural calamities
are another category of those who are vulnerable
to poverty. Those affected remain poor,
or become even poorer after the disaster
has passed. In Kabarole, for example, many
people are forced to abandon their homes
due to earthquakes. On the other hand, droughts
in Kotido have resulted in serious disruptions
in the livelihoods of both pastoralists
and agriculturists.
(Source: Ministry of Finance & Economic
Planning, UPPAP. p18-24)
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Why
was Uganda's response so effective?
(Excerpt from
www.avert.org/aidsuganda )
The approach used in Uganda has been named
the ABC approach - firstly, encouraging
sexual Abstinence until marriage; secondly,
advising those who are sexually active to
Be faithful to a single partner or to reduce
their number of partners; and finally, especially
if you have more than one sexual partner,
always use a Condom. A number of factors
helped to encourage people to take up these
strategies.
1. Communication:
an effected word of mouth campaign since
the society is community-centred.
2. Community action: The
sort of communal spirit prevalent in Uganda
created a sort of peer-review mechanism
to check the spread of the epidemic.
3. Fear: A Cambridge University
study in 1995 showed that 91.5% of Ugandan
men and 86.4% of women knew someone who
was HIV positive, and that word of mouth
was the method by which most people were
informed about HIV prevention. This indicates
that one of the main reasons for people's
behaviour change was their alarm about the
risks and the extent of the epidemic.
4. Simple messages: The
easily understandable campaign design that
employed terms identifiable with the average
citizen was & still is a strong incentive
for change.
5. Political openness:
With backing from Sate House (the President
& First Lady) the HIV/AIDS campaign
quickly achieved unbelievable success.
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References
Quotes, in Peter Sketchly,
TASO Newsletter, Vol.9, No.1, Jan - Mar
'01. p.14
Ministry of Finance and Economic
Planning, Research findings from the 2nd
Participatory Poverty Assessment, PPA2.
http://www.finance.go.ug/uppap/docs/NationalRpt.php
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