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Co-operative and Saving Societies (SACCOS) and Poverty Reduction in Lango and Kigezi sub-regions of Uganda: A comparative Empirical Study
Full text linkThe paper examines the contributions of co-operative and saving societies in poverty reduction in Lango and Kigezi sub-region. The study adopted a comparative and cross-sectional survey design where bivariate and multivariate data analyses were used to analyze the data. Specifically, correlation and regression analysis were done to determine the relationship between financial contribution by savings and credit co-operative (SACCOS), saving culture and poverty reduction. The findings established that low-income households had inadequate access to cheap and affordable credit. In the two regions, the available credits offered by SACCOS were not cheap per say and the SACCOS offered credit at 10% per month, which translated into 120% per annum. The study reveals that microcredits create long-term indebtedness among the rural poor, and yet households are not competent in managing their finances. The saving culture in Kigezi sub-region is associated with political motivations and support from politicians. In contrast, in Lango sub-region, saving culture is associated with response to government programs that were aimed at reconstructing northern Uganda after the two decades of insurgency. The provision of more financial services would contribute to poverty reduction and training of households on the utilization of financial credit
Financial Inclusion: Is it a Precursor to Agricultural Commercialization amongst Smallholder Farmers in Uganda? A comparative Analysis between Lango and Buganda Sub-regions
Full text linkThis study examines the contributions of financial inclusion in supporting agricultural commercialization amongst smallholder farmers in Uganda in Lango and Buganda sub-regions. The researcher adopted a comparative study and cross-sectional survey design where descriptive, bivariate and multivariate data analysis was used. Chi square procedure was run to test the hypothesis that financial inclusion does not affect agricultural commercialization amongst smallholder farmers in Lango and Buganda sub-regions. Regression analysis was specifically used to predict the level of change in agricultural commercialization due to changes in financial inclusion. The study identified financial inclusion as one variable that can predict the success of agricultural commercialization, though it varies from one region to another. In Lango, efforts by government to increase financial access is a positive factor to agricultural commercialization while in Buganda, it is a negative factor. In Lango, land is communal and not individually owned. Therefore, smallholder farmers need to access finances to purchase land for commercial farming. In Buganda, however, land is freehold, which makes smallholder farmers to own chunks of land from their parents. The study has established some common factors that limit agricultural commercialization in both Lango and Buganda, that is, expensive equipment and fluctuating prices while poor infrastructure is no longer a big worry. This paper recommends that, financial service providers should revise their lending terms downwards to reach smallholder farmers, some of whom lack collateral security to pledge for credit. While the government takes credit for improving infrastructure, government, through her policy organs like ministry of agriculture, should provide buffer prices against price fluctuations
Bean-based nutrient-enriched puffed snacks: formulation design, functional evaluation, and optimisation
No full textThis is a research article on School-age children frequently consume snacks. However, most of the snacks they consume are of low nutritional quality.School-age children frequently consume snacks. However, most of the snacks they consume are of low nutritional quality. The objective of this study was to develop a nutrient-rich and acceptable extruded bean-based snack, which could contribute to improve nutrient intake, especially for school-age children. Snack formulations developed from Roba1 beans, maize, orange-fleshed sweet potato, and amaranth mixtures and processed in a twin-screw extruder, were evaluated and optimised for nutritional, textural and sensory properties
Impacts of the COVID-19 Disruptions on Institutions of Higher Education in Uganda
Full text linkThis is a policy paper on Impacts of the COVID-19 Disruptions on Institutions of Higher Education in Uganda.This policy brief gives a short overview of the disruptions of the COVID-19-driven school closures on Institutions of Higher Education (IHE’s) in Uganda. Nearly 170,000 tertiary institution students are at home facing uncertainty not only about their family financial situations but also about their academic future. We surveyed 427 students in IHE’s to find out their perceptions of the impact of school closures on their learning experiences and found that 92% of the students had continued studying albeit by self-initiative. Only 16% of the students were constantly in touch with their lecturers and only 16.5% of the students had access to online learning platforms. The respondents also expressed the challenges faced during the COVID-19 lockdown, the biggest of which was being able to continue their studies fairly normally. The obvious learning losses suffered by these students may in some way never be recovered. The government and all relevant stakeholders have to come together to find the most appropriate ways of going forward. In this study, students give voice to their recommendations most of which turn towards blended learning.
We further explore strategies for a new learning system that has the potential to be a game-changer in the country’s education system. A new normal is being planned for and will start being implemented sooner than later. This new system should be more effective at education delivery, be inclusive of marginalized groups, and yet must also be affordable to the students. Furthermore, all this must be carried out in such a way that the standard health measures can be easily enforced. The results of carefully planned policy measures would greatly help in recouping the learning losses suffered during this pandemic and would make great strides in filling historical gaps in literacy rates
Covering Migration—in Africa and Europe: Results from a Comparative Analysis of 11 Countries
Full text linkThis is a Version of Record of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journalism Practice on July 20, 2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2020.1792333While the issue of migration has heavily impacted on public debates in the Global North, much less is known about coverage of migration in the Global South. This pilot study sets out to dewesternize the discussion, by analyzing and comparing news coverage in migrants’ destination countries and countries of origin. The study’s focus is on media coverage of migration from Africa towards Europe.
The paper builds upon prior studies on the coverage of migrants and refugees. A consortium of African and European researchers has conducted a comparative content analysis of migration coverage in 22 opinion-leading newspapers in six European and five sub-Sahara African countries. The study has retrieved 1,512 articles which have appeared in 2015/16. The topic was much less salient in African countries, with only 175 articles found in the African news outlets under study. Coveragein the European destination countries was dominated by domestic issues like border security and migration policy, but also paid attention to the actual migrants—who received much less coverage in the sending countries. Coverage of migration in African media was more negative and focused on disasters at sea. Both African and European media ignored the causes of migratio
Treatise to my Learned Friend, the Attorney at Law
Full text linkMore often than not the law is usually argued to be a sworn commitment to the asset of absolute fixed ideas within rigidly narrow parameters. The letter of the law is often framed in absolutes, stated in black and white but very often served in shades of gray.
We are humans in our weakest moments and perhaps our noblest when we are indeed humans, that is why we tamper with those black and white absolutes with the aid of jurors (obuntu-bulamu system) in order to
humanize our judicial system to render the system fair, compassionate, and imperfect.
Obuntu-Bulamu is Altruism (regard for and devotion to the interest of others). What it means to be fully human is to strive to live by ideals and not to measure one’s life by what you have attained in terms of your desires, but those small moments of integrity, compassion, rationality, and even self-sacrifice; because in the end, the only way we can measure the significance of own lives is by valuing the lives of others and whatever law we have should be the one that is willing to give up selfish interest in the welfare of others. In the end, I am because we are and for some reason, I can never be I am what I ought to be until you are what you are meant to be.
The best demonstration of Obuntu Bulamu in our daily lives is best captured in the adage, ” a pound of flesh” from William Shakespeare's play, Merchant of Venice. The character, Portia says this line on the instance
of Shylock, the Jew, for the payment of Antonios flesh, which is a central point of the play. In Act IV, Scene 1, Portia concludes the conflict between Shylock and Antonio, by saying toShylock, "take thy bond, take thou, thy pound of flesh”
Performance of an open source facial recognition system for unique patient matching in a resource-limited setting
Full text linkThis is a research article assesses the lack of unique patient identifiers is a challenge to patient care in developing countries.Background: The lack of unique patient identifiers is a challenge to patient care in developing countries. Probabilistic and deterministic matching approaches remain sub-optimal. However, affordable and scalable biometric solutions have not been rigorously evaluated in these settings.
Methods: We implemented and evaluated performance of an open-source facial recognition system, OpenFace, integrated within a nationally-endorsed electronic health record system in Western Kenya. Patients were first enrolled via facial images, and later matched via the system. Accuracy of facial recognition was evaluated using
Sensitivity; False Acceptance Rate (FAR); False Rejection Rate (FRR); Failure to Capture Rate (FTC) and Failure to Enroll Rate (FTE). 103 patients (mean age 37.8, 49.5% female) were enrolled. Results: The system had a sensitivity of 99.0%, FAR<1%, FRR 0.00, FTC 0.00 and FTE 0.00. Wearing spectacles did not affect performance.
Conclusion: An open source facial recognition system correctly and accurately identified almost all patients during the first match
Transforming Paratransit in Africa's congested Cities: An ICT- enabled Integrated Demand Responsive Transport (iDRT) approach
Full text linkThis is a conference paper on developing cities in Africa and the Global South are grappling with the problem of inadequate public transport provision.Developing cities in Africa and the Global South are grappling with the problem of inadequate public transport provision. The informal privately-run paratransit system consisting of mini- and micro-buses, shared taxis (jitneys), motorcycle and bicycle taxis has seen substantial growth since the early nineties.
This loosely-regulated transport system is associated with many challenges that include congestion, high crash rates, high levels of noise and air pollution. In this paper we describe the origin and current status of this structurally unique paratransit system. We then reviewed the transport master plans of four East African cities (Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Kigali, and Nairobi) and identify remaining planning gaps. We found that all the four cities reviewed lacked satisfactory plans for multi-modal public transport integration, demand responsiveness, and ICT integration which are essential to every modern and efficient public transport system. We then proposed a conceptual organised public transport system (ICT-enabled iDRT). We described how it could be adapted for a highly congested city like Kampala in order transform its existing chaotic paratransit system into an efficient public transport system that could make commuters happier and safer, reduce costs and considerably reduce pollutio
Pervasive and non-random recombination in near full-length HIV genomes from Uganda
Full text linkThis is a research article discusses the recombination’s important feature of HIV evolution, occurring both within and between the major branches of diversity (subtypes).Recombination is an important feature of HIV evolution, occurring both within and between the major branches of diversity (subtypes). The Ugandan epidemic is primarily composed of two subtypes, A1 and D that have been co-circulating for 50 years frequently recombining in dually infected patients. Here, we investigate the frequency of recombinants in this population and the location of breakpoints along the genome. As part of the PANGEA-HIV consortium, 1,472 consensus genome sequences over 5 kb have been obtained from 1,857 samples collected by the MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Research unit in
Uganda, 465 (31.6 per cent) of which were near full-length sequences (>8 kb). Using the subtyping tool SCUEAL, we find that of the near full-length dataset, 233 (50.1 per cent) genomes contained only one subtype, 30.8 per cent A1 (n¼143), 17.6 percent D (n¼82), and 1.7 per cent C (n¼8), while 49.9 per cent (n¼232) contained more than one subtype (including A1/D
(n¼164), A1/C (n¼13), C/D (n¼9); A1/C/D (n¼13), and 33 complex types). K-means clustering of the recombinant A1/D genomes revealed a section of envelope (C2gp120-TMgp41) is often inherited intact, whilst a generalized linear model was used to demonstrate significantly fewer breakpoints in the gag–pol and envelope C2-TM regions compared with accessory gene regions. Despite similar recombination patterns in many recombinants, no clearly supported circulating recombinant form (CRF) was found, there was limited evidence of the transmission of breakpoints, and the vast majority (153/164; 93 percent) of the A1/D recombinants appear to be unique recombinant forms. Thus, recombination is pervasive with clear biases in breakpoint location, but CRFs are not a significant feature, characteristic of a complex, and diverse epidemic
A book in honour of Tunde Kelani
No full textThe essays in this book of appreciation speak to these joys that the films of Tunde Kelani (and those of a few others explored in the book) bring to the heart and the mind. The magic of translating and transforming a verbal narrative to a pictorial narrative is indeed a reawakening to the ever-evolving wonder of further-creativity.Every re-interpretation of a work of art is an enrichment of the culture that inspired that work in the first place. The artist of the reinterpretation is truly blessed not only by the initial artist but by the community and the culture called upon to see itself in another light, a new might. It is in this way that Tunde Kelani is blessed and a blessing to Yoruba culture and the Nigerian community.
TK's films, unlike other films of Nollywood notoriety, are quintessential victories of the communal art form involving the writer, the film script writer, the actors male and female, the camera men, the grip holder, the make-up artists, the costume makers, the musicians, the post-production crew of editors and voice over contributors, all under the supreme director-creator TK. Any wonder then that the films of Tunde Kelani are such delights to the eyes and the ears of his audience