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UGANDA
>> AFR Regional Overview >> Uganda Overview
Development Challenge Summary Tables
Program Summary
Previous Years' Activities
2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 199750
Introduction
The principal U.S. national interest in Uganda is supporting its continued integration into the global economy. The main development goal is to assist Uganda to alleviate poverty. Uganda's economy has grown at an average of 6.8% per year since 1992. This growth is a result of the country's efforts to create a policy framework to encourage sustainable economic development, attract foreign investment, and promote export and trade opportunities. The country has excellent potential to become a net food exporter, particularly to neighboring countries. Uganda contains unique ecosystems critical to the conservation of globally important biological diversity, many of which are of great interest to international tourism. Uganda is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa to show a significant decline in HIV/AIDS prevalence, from 30% to 9%, particularly among young adults. This decline is largely due to Uganda's aggressive efforts to reduce the spread of the disease. The Government of Uganda (GOU) has made primary education reform one of its highest priorities. Under the Universal Primary Education system net primary enrollment now stands at 95% of all children aged 6-13 years, and the gap between boys' and girls' enrollment has declined to just 2%. Uganda has one of the most progressive systems of decentralized government on the continent, devolving responsibility for many government functions to 56 newly created district administrations and providing local communities direct access to local government decision makers. The country has just held an actively competed presidential election, which saw the incumbent returned for a final five-year term. However, rebel insurgencies in northern and western Uganda continue to displace large numbers of people. Conflicts and insecurity along the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Sudan, and northwest Kenya have exacted a heavy toll in terms of human lives and property, and the affected populations' ability to improve their standard of living. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported in January 2001 a national total of 623,645 internally displaced people and 218,926 refugees within Uganda from five other African nations.
The Development Challenge
Despite impressive economic gains, major issues still confront Uganda's growth and development, including high levels of poverty, high population growth rates, a heavy reliance on agriculture, weak governance structures, and continuing conflict. Uganda's progress, when seen in light of its emergence from dictatorship only 15 years ago, is impressive. The country has had to rebuild a shattered economy, confront a devastating AIDS epidemic, and try to lift its people out of mass poverty. Poverty in Uganda, as in many developing countries, is a multidimensional problem. It is characterized by economic growth that cannot keep pace with high population growth rates, poor health status, including HIV/AIDS transmission, high morbidity and mortality, and isolation and disempowerment. Poverty also affects the country unevenly, falling harder on areas in the north and west. In addition, complex emergencies, such as drought, food insecurity and conflict, decrease citizen access to the benefits of economic growth and create vulnerability to instability and inequity. Further, the 14?year insurgency in the North and West, as well as involvement in regional conflicts, mean that the Government of Uganda (GOU), with the help of the non?governmental organization (NGO) and donor communities, must support large numbers of displaced Ugandans, Sudanese refugees, chronically food insecure families, people affected by clan disputes, and abducted children that have been returned to their families and suffer from psychological trauma. This continues to burden Uganda's already limited fiscal resource base and creates significant problems for the delivery of social services and maintenance of infrastructure.
USAID's program is designed to improve the standard of living of Ugandans by increasing economic growth (rural household incomes, conserving critical ecosystems, improving the quality of basic education for human capital development); improving global health (reproductive health, maternal and child health and reducing HIV/AIDS); and improving development, relief and conflict prevention (expanding civic participation and the exercise of constitutional checks and balances and assisting in mitigating conflict, particularly in Northern Uganda, as well as food security). The program continues to achieve impressive results. Data from the Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) show that mean real consumption per capita grew by 22% between 1997 and 2000 (reflecting an average annual rate of growth of 8% over that period), and that the proportion of Ugandans unable to meet their basic consumption requirements declined from 44% to 35%. There has been a marked increase in the land base due to improved management with 19 protected area management plans now in place. USAID's policy dialogue agenda has led to increased equity in primary schools under Uganda's Universal Primary Education (UPE) Program. Prior to UPE, net primary enrollment among the poorest Ugandans was only 50%, compared to 82% among the well-to-do; by 2000, differences in enrollment based on income had virtually disappeared, and the number of children from poor households in primary school had more than doubled. In USAID-supported districts, interventions have contributed to a 43% increase in couple years of protection (CYP) from socially marketed family planning methods, showing a positive change in behavior. HIV prevalence, which is one of the major socio-economic threats to Uganda, has shown a dramatic decline between 1994 and 1999 from 30% to 9%. USAID's decentralization program brought two pilot districts to a level of competence in planning and budgeting which allowed them to qualify for the World Bank's Local Government Development Program well ahead of schedule, giving them access to significant resources. In Parliament, a newly established, USAID-supported Budget Office was opened and functioning in time to analyze the 2001/2 budget. Finally, in Northern Uganda, USAID's humanitarian assistance continues to provide emergency relief to 450,000 Ugandan internally displaced persons, 180,000 Sudanese refugees, and other affected groups. In addition, the number of sustainable development activities in the twelve target districts increased from 26 in 1998 to 33 in 2000. During 2000, a pilot program in Gulu and Kitgum involving local authorities, religious and traditional leaders and civil society, had reached out with messages of peace and reconciliation to all 49 sub-counties in both districts.
Other Donors
The United States is the second largest bilateral donor to Uganda, after Great Britain. Uganda has an active Consultative Group (CG); two meetings have been held in Kampala since 1998 with a third planned for May 2001. The CG is a formal forum that allows the GOU to present its development program and funding gaps to donors. Primary issues addressed by this group are economic growth, corruption, decentralization and progress in health and education reform. Donor resources are focused on infrastructure development, social service provision, private sector development, decentralization, and agriculture modernization as well as policy and institutional reform. The donor community has actively supported Uganda's Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) and coordination groups exist in all sectors. Uganda was selected as the first country to receive debt relief under the initial Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) in April 1998, and the Enhanced HIPC Initiative in 2000. The GOU set up the Poverty Action Fund (PAF) in June 1998 to channel Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), other donor and GOU funds to poverty reduction activities, mainly primary education, primary health care, water and sanitation, rural roads, agriculture extension, and accountability agencies.
FY 2002 Program
FY 2001 is the final year of USAID's strategic plan which ran from 1996-2001. Throughout FY 2001, the Mission is working with its partners to design a new program that outlines a strategy for FY 2002-2007 to support Uganda's Plan to Alleviate Poverty. The program will produce results directed at the difficult issues that face Uganda: high population growth rates, poor health status, including continued HIV/AIDS transmission, and high morbidity and mortality, and isolation and disempowerment. The program will include providing increased economic opportunities which diversify Uganda's economy while utilizing a strong agricultural base and optimizing its sensitive environmental systems by protecting wetlands, forests, and forest cover. It will address the critical issues of population growth, HIV/AIDS, and human capital development by empowering the least advantaged, e.g. women and children, to make sound life choices for their health and education. Finally, it will build capacity in government and civil society to respond to the needs of citizens and bring them into the debate on the issues that affect their quality of life.
Activity Data Sheets
- 617-001, Increased Rural Household Incomes
- 617-002, Critical Ecosystems Conserved to Sustain Biological Diversity and to Enhance Benefits to Society
- 617-003, Quality Basic Education for an Increased Percentage of Uganda Children
- 617-004, Increased Service Utilization and Changed Behaviors Related to Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health in Selected Districts
- 617-005, Civic Participation Expanded and Constitutional Checks and Balances Implemented
- 617-006, Improved Foundation for Reintegration of Targeted Areas of Northern Uganda
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
