Uganda: New Report, 3.7M children Living Under Extreme Poverty Conditions

By Staff Writer

A new report by Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC)  indicate 3.7 million children under the age of five in Uganda live in poverty and are deprived of basic child rights.

The Child Poverty and Deprivation report that was launched on Tuesday June 10, Kampala by the Minister of Elderly and disabled , Sulaiman Madala shows a child living in poverty represents 57 per cent of the total children population in Uganda.

Findings indicate the rate of deprivation is high in West Nile and Karamoja regions in the north where, 68% live in poverty followed by the central region at 60%. Western Uganda which constitutes districts such as Bundibudyo, Kyenjojo and Kabalore posted 57% similar to that of eastern Uganda 57%.

The middle northern Uganda has a 54% rate and the central which was divided into two sub-regions, central 1 and central 2, which posted 60% and 56% respectively. 

While children in the south-western region which includes Kisoro, Kabale and Mbarara, enjoy better livelihoods posting 41% as Kampala posted the lowest at 22%.

The report also points out limited access to health care, nutrition, education, sanitation, shelter, among others, as the main causes of deprivation.

Executive Director, Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) Dr Sarah Ssewanyana, said the issue is serious, as 24% of these children that are under five live in extreme poverty.

“The National Development Plan should strive to eliminate the disparities across Uganda. Issues pertaining to children need to be accord more attention,” she says.

The report comes at the beginning of the child-week in which children’s livelihood is under the spotlight.

Earlier studies conducted by UNESCO and UNICEF in 2005 indicated that 7.7 million Ugandans were living below the poverty line, with an estimated 2.1 million children living in abject poverty.

President Yoweri Museveni during his State-of-the Nation address last week stated that the livelihood of most Ugandans had improved.  

Members of Parliament blamed government for the current state of children affairs in the country, insisting it has not done enough to tackle the problem.

During the launch of the report, Madala said that the number of children who have achieved education has risen from 2.5 – 7.8 million from the time Ugandan education system was introduced, which he says is a big achievement.

However the report was met by backlash from (DP Kalungu West), Hon. Joseph Ssewungu, who also sits on the Parliamentary Education Committee, saying that the claims were but a “naked lies” only aimed at blackmailing Ugandans and shielding the failed.

“Children in the villages who even happen to be candidates classes cannot solve a simple mathematics calculation and arithmetic’s or even speak basic English,” lamented Ssewungu

“When you talk about feeding children, has the Ministry of Education provided for their nutritional needs? No. Visit schools and see,” said Ssewungu.

“There are pockets in the north where statistics are even worse than those given in the report. There is something fundamentally wrong with this country’s prioritization process,” said Apac woman MP, Lucy Ajok.

Ms Mary Karooro Okurut, the Minister of Gender, said the report had some key issues that need to be addressed. “The results show that over half of our children (55%) live in multi-dimensional poverty and are deprived of at least two crucial areas of their rights.”

She stated that several government initiatives to remedy the situation have been brought before Parliament and Bills that are child-centred [Child Act, Immunisation Bill and Food and nutrition Bill] have been tabled.

The National Planning Authority boss, Dr Muvara Joseph, warned that the current trend is detrimental to the nation’s development goals as set out in Vision 2040.

“This country is not likely to achieve a dividend from high population growth if we do not address the issue of child poverty,” he said. “How do we expect to achieve those goals if most of our population is unproductive?” he wondered.

The report places emphasizes on equality and accessibility, shows that 15% percent of children have never attended school and 2.2 million children below the age of 5 suffer from stunting resulting from malnutrition. 3.7% of children below the age of 5 live in poverty while 1.6% lives in extreme poverty.