Uganda has been a success story for its fight against HIV/AIDS but admiration of the international community has lately been tempered by the protracted war with the Lord's Resistance Army and by the perceived slow progress towards true democracy. However, in search of better governance, the country has turned to a multi-party system, and the long-serving President Yoweri Museveni with his National Resistance Movement duly won the 2006 elections. Museveni’s democratic credentials are however far from proven and his relationship with the international donor community remains uneasy.
The current government under President Yoweri Museveni came to power following a civil war in 1986. Museveni was successful in the first presidential vote held in 1996 and again five years later but these elections took place within a "no-party" system in which all Ugandans are presumed to be members of Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM). Parliamentarians stood for election as individuals rather than party members.
Museveni has argued that his Movement system neutralises tribal rivalries that often dominate voting patterns in Africa. And he is certainly recognised for initiating numerous democratic and economic reforms during his long presidency.
However, the international donor community gradually became impatient with what it considered to be slow progress towards multi-party democracy. In a national referendum held in July 2005, 90 percent of Ugandans decided on a multi-party system and Parliament has amended the constitution accordingly - whilst simultaneously removing limits on the incumbent's terms of office.
Presidential and parliamentary elections were duly held in February 2006 but the transition to multi-party democracy has not been without controversy. Dr. Kizza Besigye, a close colleague of Museveni from the time of the civil war but latterly in political exile, announced his intention to run for the presidency, backed by the main opposition group, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Almost immediately after his return Besigye was arrested and charged with treason and rape. Global reaction was extremely hostile to President Museveni and Besigye’s trial was adjourned while he fought the election. In the event, Museveni won the elections after campaigning on a platform that included fighting poverty and the introduction of socio-economic programs such as universal education and microfinance. There was however criticism about the treatment of Mr.Besigye and the electoral bias of state media from the Head of the European observer mission.
Government critics say that Museveni’s plans are bound to fail because of endemic corruption, illustrated by embarrassing disclosures emerging from the inquiry into improper use of grants from The Global Fund to fight AIDS. After winning the elections Museveni has however promised zero-tolerance for corruption.
The country has enjoyed relative security and peace since the NRM came to power in 1986, but northern Uganda has not partaken of this peace because of a rebel group operating in the area. Over the last 20 years thousands of people have been killed in a conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) which has been characterized by the most appalling atrocities, including the abduction of over 25,000 children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves. 1.6 million People are believed to be displaced and living in camps. Originally a remnant of the 1980’s civil war, it has never been clear what the LRA stands for or who it represents.
The LRA is known to have used southern Sudan as a base for its activities and the recent peace settlement in that region raised hopes of a similar resolution in Uganda. Tentative ceasefire negotiations have as yet yielded no substantive progress. Concerned about the communities devastated by the fighting, International aid agencies are increasingly expressing frustration at both the UN and the Museveni government for failing to bring an end to the conflict. In response the Security Council passed a resolution in January 2006 calling on the Ugandan government to do more to protect the population.
In an encouraging development towards the end of 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted leaders of the LRA and 5 arrest warrants have been issued. The Ugandan government believes that the LRA is weakened and ready to make peace and in April 2006 announced plans to begin to resettle Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in camps, backed by a budget allocation of over $2.1 million. Aid agencies have pledged to support the resettlement exercise whilst expressing real concerns about security.
Direct budget support for Uganda has been suspended or diverted by a number of European donor countries over governance concerns and the treatment of opposition politician Dr. Kizza Besigye. With a national budget that is over 40 percent donor funded, Uganda is vulnerable and lost some $73 million as donors cut aid in 2005.
Agriculture, the mainstay of the majority of people, accounts for 40% of GDP and is largely reliant on cash crops - coffee, cotton, tea - but now more diversified to include non-traditional cash crops like fish, vanilla and tourism.
Uganda has reached the completion point under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and its debt situation has been transformed following the relief announced at the July 2005 G8 summit.
After selling off most of its assets through the Privatization Unit the government has put its faith in the private sector and identified it as the engine for economic growth. Efforts are made to encourage foreign investment in the country with the aim of reducing high unemployment levels.
Electrification access for the whole country remains low, at only 9%, even as demand has continued to grow. The government is in the process of constructing a major hydropower dam on the River Nile to generate adequate power but the long drought and over-extraction has reduced the level of Lake Victoria to its lowest for over 50 years. The current shortfall in energy has forced many manufacturers to cut jobs or raise prices and the energy crisis has seen the country’s GDP growth slashed from 7 to 4.5 percent.
Over 1 million people are infected with HIV in Uganda. AIDS has reduced life expectancy below 46 years and the deaths have created 3 million orphans. However, Uganda has been at the forefront of fighting the virus and remains an example to the world for having successfully educated the public and bringing down prevalence rates to 7%. This has been achieved through political commitment and leadership, together with partnerships between different groups engaged in promoting the ABC approach of Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use.
Many HIV/AIDS non-government organizations have sprung up, encouraged by the Uganda Aids Commission. The government and donors have also initiated and scaled up HIV/AIDS treatment, building 150 centre’s where 78,000 people so far have access to free antiretroviral (ARVs). The target is to raise the figure to 120,000 people by 2007, of which 15% should be children under 15 years of age. Observers say Uganda's treatment figures remain among the highest in Africa, even if a similar number remains unable to access ARVs. Health officials say that Uganda has the advantage of a good infrastructure for dispensing ARVs to keep pace with the available funding.
The health sector is further burdened by other preventable diseases, especially malaria, acute respiratory tract infections, prenatal and maternal conditions as well as diarrhoea, which together account for more than 60% of the disease burden.
Physical access to health facilities has improved over the years and the current walk-able distance of 5kms has increased the percentage of people within reach of medical attention. The doctor-to-population ratio registered an improvement from 1:18,000 in 2002 to 1:10,069 in 2004, and the nurse/midwife population ratio has improved from 1:2,800 to 1:730. Access to safe water has been enhanced, with about 50% of the population now covered.
Ugandans enjoy a measurable level of freedom of expression with various newspapers and radio stations having been founded under the current regime. The media is a source of extensive and vibrant political news. The largest newspaper in Uganda is the government-owned The New Vision, followed by the independent The Monitor. The Kenya-based weekly The East African is also popular.
In addition to the three main newspapers, there are several other papers published in local languages and with independent content. Journalists have also left the main newspapers to start their own papers, such as Weekly Observer and Sunrise.
The radio sector, which was liberalized in 1987 under the Broadcasting Statute for TV and Radio, has led to a boom in radio stations. There are currently over 100 FM radio stations registered with the Ugandan Broadcasting Corporation, but because of a lack of frequencies, only about 80 are operational. Many of the radio stations run call-in shows, which encourage listeners to call in and discuss current affairs issues.
Uganda’s Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) sector is the fastest growing in the country, with telephone subscribers growing from 60,000 subscribers in 1996 to over 1,100,000 subscribers in 2004. The government is also implementing an ICT policy and is in the process of implementing e-government. About 88% of the people live in the rural areas where telecommunications access and services are not available, but there has been some improvement and the authorities aspire to provide universal access.
The impact of climate change could create serious difficulties for Uganda’s poverty reduction plans. Over 80% of employment is in agriculture which is very sensitive to changing rainfall patterns. For example, UNEP has published a study which concluded that a 2 degree rise in temperature would make it almost impossible to grow coffee beans in Uganda. Access to safe water and sanitation is already inadequate in rural areas and changes in temperature and water flows could also have unpredictable implications for malaria.
The government is considering climate adaptation plans but will be handicapped by the very low awareness of climate change amongst the population.
