Chronic Poverty and Disability in Uganda

The study of poverty - situation, dynamics, and impact - has received much impetus in the last 10 years in Uganda. Evidence from the country’s Household Surveys and the recently concluded Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) has yielded much needed policy-relevant information. Emerging evidence from the studies confirms an intrinsic and mutually reinforcing link between poverty and disability. Chronic poverty studies, however, are much more recent. Spurred by a growing need to understand which categories of the population live in perpetual poverty and the reasons behind their “missing out” on the benefits of current development interventions the studies have recently focused attention on specific themes and/or categories of the poor. This study focuses on the relationship between chronic poverty and disability in the country, and it argues that disabled people are not only among the poorest of the poor in the country, but that they remain poor for very long periods of time, and from generation to generation. The study highlights some of the methodological challenges that still exist with respect to isolating chronically poor from episodically poor people, one of these being the lack of longitudinal studies that devote attention to “tracking” poor people’s situations, behaviour and characteristics over time. Yet in the case of disabled people anecdotal information is overwhelming in recognising that the two - long duration poverty and disability are in the majority of cases interchangeable. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between long-duration poverty and disability. The Study is based on a review of existing literature and actual fieldwork carried out in four districts of Uganda. It seeks to: (a) summarise the current state of knowledge about disability and chronic poverty in Uganda; (b) discuss the factors that disabled people in “perpetual poverty”; (c) describe the efforts that are presently being made to address long-duration poverty among disabled persons in the country; and (d) propose policy interventions aimed at greater inclusion of disabled people in the country’s development processes. The study adopts Hulme and Shepherd’s definition, taking chronic poverty to be that poverty where individuals or households are trapped in severe and multi-dimensional poverty for an extended period of time, and where poverty is linked with the intergenerational transmission, so people who are born in poverty, live in poverty and pass that poverty onto their children (Hulme and Shepherd, 2001). Evidence from the study confirms that disabled people, as individuals, or the households in which they live, face a kind of poverty condition that carries on for a long period of time - beyond five (5) years, during which period, and regardless of different macro and micro interventions, affected households or individuals are unable to sustain themselves or to improve on their livelihoods

The role of early cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) escape in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 subtype C infection

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.This study investigated the frequency and timing of cytotoxic T-lympthocyte (CTL) escape and its pathogenic consequences on HIV-1 subtype C disease progression

The use of the GPS system in the water sector

The use of the GPS system in the water secto

Determinants of Commercial Mixed Farming on Small Farms in Kenya

Agriculture is a topic of concern for rural development programs in Kenya because of the high poverty incidents among farmers. Fundamentally, smallholder agriculture contributes substantially to total agricultural production and total employment. Despite the fact that Kenyan farmers largely practice mixed farming, some are unable to act commercially and consequently, unable to improve their livelihoods. This paper therefore aims at establishing the entrepreneurial indicators of farming activities that lead to improved rural livelihoods. Cross-sectional survey of 388 small farms in Thika was carried out to investigate the determinants of commercial mixed farming. Linear probability model, logit and probit models were used to estimate the determinants of commercial mixed farming. The results show that the size of the farm, gender of the farmer, availability of electricity supply and running water on the farm are the main determinants of mixed farming. This study suggests that policies be put in place to discourage partitioning of farm land into uneconomical sizes. It also recommend that rural electrification and training programs on best farming practices be intensified in the rural areas to enable farmers to act commercially.   Key words: Commercial Mixed Farming, Farm Characteristics, Entrepreneurship, Logit and Probit models

Equilibrium and kinetic studies of the stannate(IV)-polyol reaction

The stability constants of 1:1 stannate(IV)-polyol complexes in aqueous media have been determined using a conductimetric technique. The constants are fairly large, and lie in the range 5.3-123.0 for the ten ligands investigated. These values were subsequently used in conjunction with kinetic data to postulate a mechanism involving the species Sn(OH)5- as intermediate in the formation of the chelates. The stannate(IV)-polyol reaction, though taking place at higher pH values, is acid-catalysed and follows first-order kinetics in the oxyanion, but at large ligand-oxyanion mole ratios the reaction exhibits zero-order rate dependence on the polyol. These features taken together are consistent with a unimolecular nucleophilic substitution on the oxyanion. KEY WORDS: Hexahydroxystannate(IV), Polyol, Stability constants, Conductimetric method, Mechanism  Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2010, 24(3), 447-456

Drop amalgam voltammetric study of lead complexation by natural inorganic ligands in a salt lake

A study of inorganic complexation of lead using drop amalgam voltammetry is described. The study has been carried out in simulated salt lake water and at ionic strength of 7.35 M, the predetermined ionic strength of Lake Katwe. The complexation of lead with the simple ligands (Cl-, CO32-) created anodic waves and the shifts of the peak potentials of lead with the introduction of varying concentrations of each ligand measured. The analysis of these shifts furnished information about the stability constants of the lead complexes which was employed in the calculation of lead species distribution. These mathematical treatments revealed the existence of two lead chloride complexes with corresponding stability constants log b1 = 0.88, log b2 = 2.95; and two carbonate complexes with log b1 = 8.50 and log b2 = 9.62. The results obtained indicate that in Lake Katwe water (25 oC, carbonate alkalinity = 0.11 M, pH 11) approximately 0.00% of total inorganic lead exists as the free ion, and at chloride concentration of 1.8 M only 1.3% of lead exists as the free ion. KEY WORDS: Drop amalgam, Lead speciation, Stability constants, Lake Katwe, Voltammetric complexation, Species distributionBull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2004, 18(1), 91-100. 

Succession Strategies and Performance of African Family Businesses: An Empirical Investigation of Nairobi Central Business District of Kenya

A good number of African family businesses in Kenya do not survive to the third generation because of family disputes, greed of some family members, and lack of business professionalism among many others. However, succession of family businesses has been an issue of concern for decades in terms of the subject, audience and theories. Therefore, this research attempted to investigate the influence of succession strategies which were proxied by leadership strategies, ownership strategies, wealth transition strategies, as well as family values and legacy strategies, on business performance. The study employed descriptive research design. The population of interest consisted of 600 African family businesses operating within Nairobi central business district from which a sample size of 120 businesses was picked. The data was collected through use a questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive statistics and multiple regression. Regression model was used to estimate the effects of succession strategies on the performance of African family businesses. The study findings show that leadership strategies as well as family values and leadership strategies affect the performance of African family businesses positively. On other hand, ownership strategies were found to have a negative effect on the performance of family business. It was recommended that family businesses should show leadership by coming up with clear business visions and missions; they should embrace professionalism to avoid nepotism and favouritism in the management of their businesses; and that, they should respect the values and legacy strategies of their business founders. Keywords: Succession Strategies, Leadership Strategies, Ownership Strategies, African Family Business, Business Performance, Family Values and legac

The Efficacy of compost, limestone and growth of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de wit, Senna siamea (Lam.) and Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maid. for the restoration of bacterial functional diversity in the rhizosphere in copper tailings and pyrite soils

The potential of compost, limestone and growth of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de wit, Senna siamea (Lam.) H.S Irwin & Barneby, and Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maid for the restoration of rhizospheric bacterial functional diversity of pyrite soil and copper tailings was assessed in the field. Pyrite soil and copper tailings were amended with limestone, compost followed by planting of experimental trees after homogenisation. The experimental setup was of split block design with site as a blocking factor; amendment application and growth of trees as the treatment factors. After 12 months of growth, background and rhizospheric pyrite and copper tailings were sampled and their physico-chemical characteristics analysed. The Community Level Physiological Profiles (CLPP) of the same samples were determined using Biolog EcoPlate™. The functional diversity was assessed from the Biolog data using various indices including Average Well Colour Development (AWCD), substrate richness (S) and Shannon-Wiener index (H). Background and rhizospheric untreated pyrite and copper tailings were extremely acidic, with low organic matter content, available phosphorous, total nitrogen, and relatively higher concentrations of available heavy metals and low bacterial functional diversity. Application of amendments and growth of the tree species effectively increased the pH, organic matter content, available phosphorous, total nitrogen, growth of understory plant species, bacterial functional diversity and lowered the available concentrations of heavy metals. AWCD, bacterial species diversity and richness were higher in rhizospheres of leguminous tree species than the non leguminous Eucalyptus grandis, suggesting the suitability of the former for remediation of pyrite and copper tailings. Keywords: efficacy, compost, restoration, bacterial functional diversity, rhizosphere, Biolog Ecoplate

The potential of open data to impact resource allocation for poverty eradication in Kenya and Uganda

In Kenya, strengthening the political and legal aspects of open data is necessary, while in Uganda financial investment in the open data process, building multi-stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and strengthening the legal and political environments, are all important. There was strong evidence in both countries of the need for open data champions who could help to leverage adequate political support and act as potential intermediaries. A digital divide exists between rural and urban settings, and between male and female access to open data drivers. This brief reviews country conditions and offers recommendations for moving towards open data standards

Identification and Analysis of Adulterants in Aphrodisiac Herbal Medicines Sold by Private Herbal Clinics, Pharmacies and Herbal Drug Shops in Kampala, Uganda

High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), column chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) were used for the identification and analysis of three phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors in 50 randomly selected aphrodisiac herbal samples. Twenty-seven samples were found to contain one or two or all three synthetic PDE-5 inhibitors representing 54% of the analyzed samples. The FTIR spectral characteristics obtained from the isolated compounds were found to be in conformity with those of sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil reference standards. Patients who use these herbal sexual enhancers with the notion that they are safe and natural are likely to be exposed to serious health risks related to safety and quality of the herbal products. There is need for additional effort to effectively regulate herbal medicines in order to protect the consumers from the threat of adulteration