Tag Archives: subject

Challenges and opportunities of E.A. Cooperation

Radio Munansi English program February 9, 2013

This is Eric Kashambuzi communicating from New York

Greetings: fellow Ugandans at home and abroad, friends and well wishers. Welcome to the program. We look forward to your active participation because this is an interactive program.

During the last two weeks, we discussed Uganda’s population growth and birth control, migration and refugees and their impact on population growth and on politics, economy and social services as well as the environment, leading to conflicts with indigenous people.

Today we want to continue this debate within the context of the East African economic integration and political federation by examining the history, challenges and opportunities.

I have written extensively on this subject and the articles are posted at www.kashambuzi.com for easy reference. I will therefore make a brief presentation to guide the debate. Please call in and give us your views or correct me should you disagree with my presentation.

Ugandans have not had a chance to discuss this very important subject. What they have been told are the assumed benefits of larger population in terms of creating a bigger market for Uganda goods and services and a common passport that would facilitate mobility within the community.

Read the full post
Posted on by

The role of Uganda’s under-five children in human capital formation

In his end of 2009 address, President Museveni included the important subject of human development. To achieve it he stressed universal primary and secondary education. He also underlined the critical role of a sound health system, adequate provision of safe water and proper sanitation facilities. However, he left out two important aspects – under-five children and food security. Without these two, no country can achieve satisfactory human capital development.

It is surprising that the president left out food security because it was an area that received his strong support at the beginning of his presidency. He lamented that food insecurity in Uganda had been caused by neglecting the production of nutritious food stuffs (finger-millet, sorghum, soya beans etc) in favor of cash crops (coffee, cotton, tea and tobacco) needed by consumers in foreign countries. He stressed, at home and abroad, the need to re-orient Uganda’s economy so that food production for domestic consumption is balanced with production for export markets.

It has long been recognized that human development begins with the health and especially the nutritional status of the mother at the time she conceives. A mother who is under-nourished will likely produce under-weight children with permanent disabilities including physical and mental retardation. Therefore human capital development should begin with adequate nutrition of the mother to produce a healthy and normal child.

Read the full post
Posted on by