Improved Access to Water May Hold the Solution to Ending FGM in Africa

Could it be possible that if women in Africa had access to water, it could save them from undergoing the harmful practice of female genital mutilation (FGM)? It seems that according to yet-to-be released research by Ugandan-based Gwada Ogot Tao, FGM and other forms of circumcision in Africa could be linked to water.

Growing Calls for Water to be Prioritised

Efforts to establish water as an agenda item in its own right in climate change negotiations are gaining momentum in Durban, South Africa. Water experts say doing this will lead to a greater focus on developing policy, and attract more resources into the water sector through adaptation programmes.

Political Will – and Money – Needed for Disaster Management

Managing the impact of increased disasters due to climate change will only be possible if such efforts are led by local communities, say non-governmental organisations working in climate change.

HEALTH-UGANDA: Self Medication Blamed for Increased Drug Resistance

In pharmacies in the heart of Kampala men and women line up to buy drugs that you usually need a prescription for, like Coartem, a drug used to treat malaria.

UGANDA: Distribution Policy Means Not Enough Drugs for Clinics

The nurse at Najembe Health Centre in Buikwe district says the centre’s supply of malaria drugs will be finished in two days. A malaria epidemic has hit the area and the demand for the drugs is high. But the centre, which serves the entire sub-county, will have to wait up to six weeks before their supply will be replenished.

UGANDA: The Value of Immunisation Programmes

GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccinations and Immunisation, secured pledges of 4.3 billion dollars from donors in London on Jun. 13 with the aim of securing funding to ensure life-saving vaccinations for every child on the planet.

Uganda Latest Govt to Face Down Protests

The Ugandan opposition has announced it will continue protests against rising prices for fuel, food and other essential commodities, undeterred by violent police repression of the previous two days of action.

EDUCATION: Meet TESSA, Ugandan Teachers’ Best Friend

Beatrice Namuzibira’s class of 90 pupils is not even considered a large one, compared to classes in other schools. Universal primary education has filled classrooms beyond capacity across Uganda, putting a strain on teachers.

AFRICA: Customary Law Bars Women’s Access to Land

Regina Namukasa has been twice dispossessed – first when her husband died and his clan left her out when dividing up his estate, and again when she was denied a share in her father's land. But this time she's fighting back.

Uganda Could Become Regional Rice Exporter say Researchers

In a small garden at the Entebbe Botanical garden, about 40 kilometres from Kampala, a few yellowish plants are trying to adapt to their new environment.

Somalia Centre Stage Ahead of AU Summit

The African Union summit opens in Kampala on July 19 amid heightened security following twin bomb attacks a week earlier.

UGANDA: HIV-positive Teens Infecting Other Teens

HIV-positive Phiona* (19) had unprotected sex with her best friend and she prays that she did not infect him with the virus. She knew she should not have let it happen but Phiona was too scared to tell him her status, and the teenagers did not have access to condoms.

UGANDA: Government Pushes Ahead With Repressive Media Law

The proposed media law is a monster, says Dr George Lugalambi, chair of a coalition fighting to preserve press freedom in Uganda. Publishers and journalists would have to apply annually for a licence, which could be revoked at will in the interests of "national security, stability and unity," or if coverage was deemed to be "economic sabotage."


UGANDA: Information Technology Helps Farmers

Mayuge district has 31,000 farming families served by just nine agricultural extension workers. In Wainha village, an internet centre run by the Busoga Rural Open Source and Development Initiative is more than filling the gap in assisting farmers.

ENVIRONMENT-UGANDA: Landslides – Experts Warn Worst is Yet to Come

Fourteen-year-old Isaac Wadyegere of Bundesi village in Bududa district woke up to a rainy and chilly Monday morning and went to school as usual. But Mar. 1 was not a usual day in eastern Uganda.

UGANDA: Pressure Mounts to Make Public Oil Agreements

Uganda’s members of parliament (MPs) are pressurising government to make public details of oil production-sharing agreements it signed with various international oil companies.

UGANDA: Railway Revival Planned

The collapse of the Uganda Railway Corporation 15 years ago opened up lucrative opportunities for privately-owned road transporters. But the high cost of maintaining the highways carrying heavy truck and bus traffic is leading government to take a fresh look at the rails.

UGANDA: Bond Issue Could Mean New Homes

Few Ugandans are able to find a bank willing to loan them money to buy a house; in a culture where every man is expected to own his house, moves by Stanbic Bank to provide financing for home and auto purchases are welcome.

UGANDA: Political Parties Fail to Declare Funding

The Electoral Commission of Uganda says if they tightened the noose around parties which fail to declare election funding, all of them would probably be deregistered.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Least Developed Countries Spell Out Demands

The world's poorest countries want two billion dollars from the developed world to replenish the Least Developed Countries Fund.