Problems and issues of development in Asia : general review

Paper delivered at the First Asian Conference on Development held in Hong Kong from 15 to 18 December 1969 and sponsored by the Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unionists (regional body in Asia of the World Confederation of Labour).This is a review of the progress achieved so far in development and it focuses attention on certain major problems and issues of development policy which confront the developing countries in Asia. The approach has been selective and the emphasis herein is on trends and aspects of development which condition and guide national and international action to which efforts should be directed. The discussion is focused on certain priority areas of concern to Asian nations in the context of international and regional cooperation and is intended to provide a background to assist the Conference in understanding and orienting current and future actions in relevant fields in Asia

An analysis of the Agro-industry in Uganda and its role in economic development

Uganda's major industry is agriculture and most non-farm production and service is related to agriculture. Nearly ninety per--cent of the population lives in rural areas. A large share of the industrial employment in centres like Jinja and Kampala is in agricultural processing and service industry. The development of agro-industrial setup certainly facilitates the training of workers. Such training in effect enhances economic mobility in the direction of urbanization. This in turn will fundamentally affect both the family organization and industrial relations in the society. The importance of understanding the moving forces of such structural changes in the process of change and development cannot be over-emphasized. Within the nexus' of the agro-industrial development areas' the special problem connected with the so called 'target workers and their relations with the 'host' group. Connected with this relationship- is the issue; of the land tenure system which all affect the productivity of agriculture

The magnitude of human trafficking in Uganda: a case study of major cities and towns in Uganda

Trafficking in human beings is one of the biggest challenges facing the challenges the world today. It is the fastest growing vice by which people are forced into slavery (United Nations 2007). Trafficking in persons: "shall mean recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipts of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power of the position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of the person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation". (Palermo protocol, 2000) Trafficking in human persons is one of the modern as slavery because traffickers employ violence, threats, and other forms of coercion to force their victims to work against their will. Actual statistics on human trafficking including child trafficking are difficult to obtain because it is a covert activity. The US report 2005, on human trafficking estimates that of the 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are children. 'The trade in human being is estimated by US $3 2 billion worldwide Victims of trafficking are subject to nasty human rights violations including, rape, torture, forced abortions, starvation, and threats of torturing or murdering family members (ibid). In most cases, victims who are looking to escape poverty in their own countries accept fraudulent offers of foreign employment such as child-care or restaurant work, only to be forced into prostitution in deplorable conditions in a strange country (United Nations 2000)

Common Preventable Health and Social Problems Encountered by Elderly in Shinyanga Region in the Northern Part of Tanzania

In Tanzania elders are respected as repositories of inherited wisdom, experienced and principal decision makers in the community. However, evidence shows that such repositories are no longer considered important in most societies. As a result elders are neglected with some mistreatment in terms of provision of health and social services for instance; at times they get denied and ignored of their obvious rights, ignoring their retirement benefits and the rights onto free social services as per the Tanzania National Ageing Policy of 2003. Elders are therefore faced with physical, psychological and geriatric social suffering. It is on this basis that this study tries to explore the common preventable health and social problems encountered by elderly in Shinyanga Region in northern part of Tanzania. Across sectional community based study of 465 subjects randomly selected was done in three wards of Kahama District. The district was selected randomly out of 8 districts of Shinyanga Region, structured questionnaires with both closed and opened endower used; the information was collected from house to house and other information collected from health facilities within the wards as every ward had one public health facility; subjects (respondents) were obtained using purposive sampling technique aiming at elderly with 60 years of age and above. Kahama district has a population of approximately 36,014 of which 1500 (4%) are in the elderly age group of 60 years and above. The study population was 465 which is 30% (465/1500) of the geriatric population of Kahama. Among this group 5% were female while 41% were male and 53% (248/465) were married. 64% (297/465) were taking care of themselves, 32% (150/465) cared by relatives and 4% (18/465) cared by the community. Among the respondents, 40% (185/465) were affected by HIV/AIDs in one way or another either living with orphans whose parents died of HIV/AIDS or asking care of the infected patients within the family. It was also found that 73% of the geriatrics were not exempted from medical treatment fees so they had to pay for their medical care. However, only 32% were aware of getting free treatment and 61% of the study populations were not satisfied with the medical care provided at the public health facilities. The common diseases affecting this age group are: Eye problem 59% (273/465); Arthritis 52% (241/465); Dental problems 27% (124/465); Hypertension 23% (107/465); Backache 22% (105/465); Malaria 28% (132/465); Hearing problems 26% (121/645); Urinary tract Infection 35% (165/465); Depression 8% (36/465). Dementia was also a problem though we had no tools to confirm the diagnosis; some of the geriatrics had more than two diseases. The majority of the elderly age group in Kahama District are not aware of their rights that they deserve free treatment according to Tanzania policy, furthermore for assessment and screening of health problems. A majority of the elderly die prematurely due to preventable diseases and more than half of the diseases affecting geriatrics are preventable

Perceptions of the Drivers of Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Post Conflict Northern Uganda

This paper explores the perceived forms and drivers of sexual and gender based violence in post conflict settings with focus on Northern Uganda. It applied qualitative approaches primarily using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Study findings revealed that although all forms of violence are perceived to be prevalent, physical and emotional violence were perceived to be the most occurring. Men were perceived to be the main perpetrators of violence. However, there were cases of men who reported to experience violence from women. Few men reported violence to authorities because it was perceived to be stigmatizing; such men would be perceived as weak in a patriarchal society that perceives ideal men to be strong and less susceptible to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Early marriages are a major form of gender based violence which was perceived as normal in a number of communities despite the evidence that it contributes to negative social and reproductive health outcomes . Sexual violence cases in form of rape, defilement as well as incest were perceived to be on the rise in the sub-region. The study identified several drivers of SGBV including poverty, power imbalances in access to and control over resources, insecurity, blaming HIV infection on female partners, HIV related stigma and discrimination, alcohol and substance abuse

Examining the nexus between ICTs and human rights in Africa : the case of South Africa

Meeting: International Workshop on the Nexus between ICTs and Human Rights in Africa, 2-4 April, 2009, Kampala, UGThis paper provides an in-depth analysis of privacy issues in South Africa in terms of human rights legislation and the South African constitution. It also reviews the legal framework for censorship, along with issues of freedom of expression and hate speech with regards to information and communication technology (ICT)