Category: News

Health is one of the biggest elephants in any Ugandan room. If you fall seriously sick, in most cases, for those with the resources and connections, hospitals in foreign capitals seems to be the only glimmer of hope for survival. For most of us, it is certain death!

Yet a day the former speaker of parliament was buried at his Omoro home, the world gathered to commemorate yet another World Health Day. Goal three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is on good health and well being to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The SDG targets are part of Agenda 2030. Equitable access to health is one of the major drivers of equality. Eight years to the end of the SDGs, how far are we as a country? Can we meet the targets?

Can we reduce the maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030? Can we end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age by 2030?

The first point of action should be for many young people delaying giving birth until when they are ready. There are many underage girls getting pregnant in their teens. Many, keen to hide the pregnancy end up in unsafe places carrying out unsafe abortions.

Instead of parents and guardians teaching kids about their sexuality, we have resorted to prayer! Yet, one of the reasons Uganda managed to succeed to a certain extent about the spread of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s is because parents had candid conversations with their children. Teens need to understand their body changes and the risks that associated with underage sexual intercourse.

Can we achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all by 2030?

The death of speaker Jacob Oulanyah and Bank of Uganda governor Prof Tumusiime Mutebile in foreign hospitals should make us think about our priorities. It is reported that Uganda spends approximately Shs400 billion every year treating its officials abroad. If we spent 75% of this money every year on building and equipping hospitals ordinary Ugandans can afford, maybe we would be closer to achieving the SDG 3 targets.

If you visit a Ugandan hospital, each patient has at least one person looking after them as care takers and many others that cook food, bring in food supplies and such other things. One person falling sick means that a few other people won’t be working, dedicating their time to looking after the sick. How much does this cost the economy?

But in absence of a national insurance scheme, most people have no options. Public hospitals and health facilities are few and underwhelmed with the sheer number of people who need their services. Many die while waiting for critical care.

There are three major causes of maternal deaths: delays to seek medical services, delays during transportation and delays at hospital. Due to lack of insurance, many women delay to go to hospitals as they wait for money for transport and other necessities. Many times, money comes in too late.

Health facilities are far from where people live making it expensive for people to visit these facilities. Many people keep pushing the time they will go to health facilities. As they delay, their health deteriorates and they die. The priests turn up and say it was “God’s plan.”

I recently visited Kawempe hospital, the national referral facility for pregnant women. In some wards, you had nowhere to pass with many people sleeping on the floor. About 70 women give birth at this hospital every single day. The day I was there, 18 women needed emergency surgeries. I saw a doctor who was too tired that had decided to take a nap on the floor before performing yet another caesarean surgery.

Another time, some big man will die and the politicians will give colorful speeches, fight over the funeral budget, and drive their Landcruisers back to Kampala and do nothing yet again. When they are sick, they will cry to those with the envelope to be taken to India or Nairobi for treatment.

The most cost-effective thing to do is not to fly those who are well connected abroad for treatment rather to build facilities right here at home. In fact, we would make money from the ever-expanding East African region — just like Nairobi.

The Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre ( UWEC) has announced that it is set to vaccinate all chimpanzees among other animals against COVID-19 at its centre. The UWEC Executive Director, Mr. James Musinguzi revealed this on Wednesday during Zakayo’s Day celebrations held annually every October, 27.

“As UWEC, we are working together with Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Dr. Gladys Kamela of Conservation through Public Health and Zoetis Company to get a vaccine called Zoetis, to be able to vaccinate all our chimps and other animals. But of course we shall have to first do some trials with the monkeys to observe how they react,” he revealed.

Mr. Musinguzi also added that the centre will also carry out an outreach Covid-19 vaccination drive for its visitors.

“Since we receive quite a number of people over the weekend, we have given these two days Saturday and Sunday because it has some logistic arrangement that we have to make with Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, for our clients to be able to come and benefit from the vaccination,” he said.

In the month of July, Ngamba Island Chimpanzees were subjected to Covid-19 tests and all results turned negative.

Five Ugandan startups that are ready for the next level of growth have been selected for the Next Innovation with Japan Accelerator program.

During a pitch day that took place at The Innovation Village recently, startups including M-scan, Laboremus Uganda, ChapChap Africa, Endiro Direct, AkelloBanker, Patasente and Easy Matatu pitched their business solutions and competed against twelve startups to emerge winners of the NINJA Accelerator Uganda program.

Uchiyama Takayuki, the Chief Representative at Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Uganda Office said the startups were required to showcase aspects of relevance, impact, feasibility, readiness, traction and innovation.

“We looked at the business profitability, sustainable business models, future growth strategy and return on investment. For the innovation aspect, we assessed the business incorporation of technology to provide solutions and address societal challenges” Uchiyama said, adding that, “Now that the assessment process is done, the winner will undergo a three-month custom-made program based on their individual business need and capacity so as to achieve their desired level of growth. They will have a chance to access mentorship sessions, executive networking opportunities with partners and investors within the Japan ecosystem and support to test and refine their business idea.”

As part of the accelerator program, each of the five start-ups will receive up to $18,000 proof-of-concept funding to test their ideas. They will also be given the opportunity to raise between $0.5-1 million in investment, Uchiyama added.

The NINJA Accelerator Uganda program comes at a time when many startups are struggling to keep their businesses afloat given the insufficient financial resources, lack of innovation and unawareness of business principles for some.

With programs like these that break down barriers and create a path for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, The Innovation Village believes that Uganda could produce the continent’s next game changers. The program is now expected to breathe life into some of Uganda’s top startups and catapult socioeconomic transformation.

The Chief Executive Officer, Endiro Direct, Gloria Katusiime said, “Endiro Direct is thrilled to be able to participate in the NINJA Accelerator Uganda program and work with the team to develop a solution that solves a real and often difficult challenge of access to markets for many coffee producers in Uganda and Africa.”

Sharing the same sentiment, Jean Anthony Onyait, the Chief Executive Officer of agriculture finance and tech startup, Akellobanker, said the NINJA Accelerator Uganda program is an opportunity to think big and get creative about its services.

He says, “We will go a long way in building our operational, technological and financial capacity to scale rapidly in Uganda and to expand to other markets in East Africa”.

George Bakka, the Chief Executive Officer of Patasente, a Fintech startup, noted that the NINJA accelerator program has come at a good time in its growth trajectory. It is an opportunity for the startup to learn more, build new capabilities, further refine its product and lay the foundation for both local and regional scale-up.

According to Lema Andrew, the Co-Founder Easy Matatu, joining the program for the first time is an opportunity to access business, technical, investment support as well as gives visibility to its product as it works to fix public transport challenges in Africa.

With the support of the JICA taskforce, the implementing partners, The Innovation Village, Hive Collab and Outbox will each be assigned a startup to train and mentor. This collaboration will be one of the ecosystem’s largest efforts towards supporting startups and entrepreneurs in Uganda.

A group of the United Nations (UN) regional bodies have launched the first online data portal which showcases the progress that all African countries make on sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Under the Africa Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP), 17 regional UN entities on Monday unveiled the Africa UN Data for Development Platform, according to a joint press statement dispatched through the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Tuesday 14th, September 20121.

The first-ever platform brings together statistical data across the continent, ensuring easy measuring and evaluating of the progress on SDGs in Africa. It will serve as a one-stop-shop repository that captures high-quality data and evidence from all the African countries.

It is also the first of its kind to raise the profile of statistical progress towards the African Union (AU) vision of Agenda 2063, which seeks to see a prosperous and peaceful Africa by 2063.

“With barely nine years left to achieve the SDGs, making use of common and harmonized data is essential to accelerate progress,” said Assistant Secretary-General Ahunna Eziakonwa, Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the UN Development Programme.

The new data portal looks into the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and breaks them down into their 169 targets and 231 indicators, allowing everyone to track progress at the granular level.

The platform enables carrying out in-depth analyses and progress assessments at the target and indicator levels, and link them with national development plans, according to Malawi’s Vice President, Saulos Chilima.

The new data engine also gives users the ability to classify the statistics by various dimensions, such as the eight regional economic communities recognized by AU, least developed countries, landlocked developing nations, and oil-producing, mineral-rich states.

It also repackages the data by key thematic issues, whereby users can categorize SDG indicators by agriculture, energy and health, allowing them to not only analyze the specific progress at the country level but also examine the convergence, similarities and differences among a variety of sub-regional blocs and topics.

The platform will open to all users, including policymakers, planners, program managers, development partners, private sector organizations, civil society groups, academic institutions, researchers, students, media outlets and many others.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released a set of recommendations calling for urgent and strong support to help the global tourism sector not only recover from the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19 but to ‘grow back better’. The Recommendations are the first output of the Global Tourism Crisis Committee, established by UNWTO with high-level representatives from across the tourism sector and from within the wider United Nations system.

Recognizing that tourism and transport has been among the hardest hit of all sectors, the Recommendations are designed to support governments, the private sector and the international community in navigating the unparalleled social and economic emergency that is COVID-19.

“These specific recommendations give countries a check-list of possible measures to help our sector sustain the jobs and support the companies at risk at this very moment. Mitigating the impact on employment and liquidity, protecting the most vulnerable and preparing for recovery, must be our key priorities,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Recognising the diverse realities in each country as well as the evolving nature of this crisis, the document will continue to be updated. 

Preparing for recovery now

We must support the sector now while we prepare for it to come back stronger and more sustainable

“We still do not know what the full impact of COVID-19 will be on global tourism. However, we must support the sector now while we prepare for it to come back stronger and more sustainable. Recovery plans and programmes for tourism will translate into jobs and economic growth.” added the Secretary-General.

The Recommendations for Action are the first comprehensive set of actions governments and private sector actors can take now and in the challenging months ahead. Mr Pololikashvili stressed that “for tourism to fulfil its potential to help societies and whole countries recover from this crisis, our response needs to be quick, consistent, united and ambitious”.

Responding today and preparing for tomorrow

In all, this new guide provides 23 actionable recommendations, divided into three key areas:

Managing the Crisis and Mitigating the Impact: Key recommendations relate to retaining jobs, supporting self-employed workers, ensuring liquidity, promoting skills development and reviewing taxes, charges and regulations relating to travel and tourism. The Recommendations are made as a global economic recession looks likely. Given its labor-intensive nature, tourism will be hard hit, with millions of jobs at risk, especially those held by women and youth as well as marginalised groups.

Providing Stimulus and Accelerating Recovery: This set of Recommendations emphasises the importance of providing financial stimulus, including favourable tax policies, lifting travel restrictions as soon as the health emergency allows for it, promoting visa facilitation, boosting marketing and consumer confidence, in order to accelerate recovery. The Recommendations also call for tourism to be placed at the centre of national recovery policies and action plans.

Preparing for Tomorrow: Emphasising tourism’s unique ability to lead local and national growth, the Recommendations call for greater emphasis to be placed on the sector’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Agenda and to build resilience learning from the lessons of the current crisis. The Recommendations call on governments and private sector actors to become build preparedness plans, and to use this opportunity to transition to the circular economy.

About the Global Tourism Crisis Committee

UNWTO formed the Global Tourism Crisis Committee to guide the sector as it responds to the COVID-19 crisis and to build the foundations for future resilience and sustainable growth. The Committee comprises representatives of UNWTO’s Member States and Affiliate Members, alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The private sector is represented by Airports Council International (ACI), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), International Air Transport Association (IATA) and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to ensure a coordinated and effective response.

The tourism industry in Uganda has good news, another baby Rhino has been born at the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, off the Kampala-Gulu highway, Nakasongola district in the Kafu river basin. This new born has brought the total number of the formerly extinct white rhino given birth to in Uganda to five in less than years.

Rhinos were mostly found in Murchison falls national park and Kidepo national park. But with the wars in 1970’s, they were extinct through poaching and currently, they are only in Ziwa rhino sanctuary. Tourists en route to Murchison falls national park for wildlife tour always make a one hour stop over to track the rhinos before proceeding to the park.

The government has a future plan to re-introduce the rhinos in the parks once they breed a good number of them.

Angie Genade the executive director of the Rhino Fund Uganda noted that this newly born Rhino came months just after the recent birth of “Malaika” calf on 2^nd July, 2011 and added that it’s a blessing to Uganda’s conservation society as she is the only country worldwide with such an advancement in Rhino conservation.

Wildlife tours generate more foreign exchange in the tourism industry in Uganda, only second to Gorilla tracking tours which is done in Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has raised an exceptional $3 billion in a three-year bond to help alleviate the economic and social impact the Covid-19 pandemic will have on livelihoods and Africa’s economies.

The Fight Covid-19 Social bond, with a three-year maturity, garnered interest from central banks and official institutions, bank treasuries, and asset managers including Socially Responsible Investors, with bids exceeding $4.6 billion. This is the largest Social Bond ever launched in international capital markets to date, and the largest US Dollar benchmark ever issued by the Bank. It will pay an interest rate of 0.75%.

The African Development Bank Group is moving to provide flexible responses aimed at lessening the severe economic and social impact of this pandemic on its regional member countries and Africa’s private sector.

“These are critical times for Africa as it addresses the challenges resulting from the Coronavirus. The African Development Bank is taking bold measures to support African countries. This $3 billion Covid-19 bond issuance is the first part of our comprehensive response that will soon be announced. This is indeed the largest social bond transaction to date in capital markets. We are here for Africa, and we will provide significant rapid support for countries,” said Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group.

The order book for this record-breaking bond highlights the scale of investor support, which the African Development Bank enjoys, said the arrangers.

“As the Covid-19 outbreak is dangerously threatening Africa, the African Development Bank lives up to its huge responsibilities and deploys funds to assist and prepare the African population, through the financing of access to health and to all other essential goods, services and infrastructure,” said Tanguy Claquin, Head of Sustainable Banking, Crédit Agricole CIB.

Coronavirus cases were slow to arrive in Africa, but the virus is spreading quickly and has infected nearly 3,000 people across 45 countries, placing strain on already fragile health systems.

It is estimated that the continent will require many billions of dollars to cushion the impact of the disease as many countries scrambled contingency measures, including commercial lockdowns in desperate efforts to contain it. Globally, factories have been closed and workers sent home, disrupting supply chains, trade, travel, and driving many economies toward recession.

Commenting on the landmark transaction, George Sager, Executive Director, SSA Syndicate, Goldman Sachs said: “In a time of unprecedented market volatility, the African Development Bank has been able to brave the capital markets in order to secure invaluable funding to help the efforts of the African continent’s fight against Covid-19. Not only that, but in the process, delivering their largest ever USD benchmark. A truly remarkable outcome both in terms of its purpose but also in terms of a USD financing”.

The Bank established its Social Bond framework in 2017 and raised the equivalent of $2 billion through issuances denominated in Euro and Norwegian krone. In 2018 the Bank was designated by financial markets, ‘Second most impressive social or sustainability bond issuer” at the Global Capital SRI Awards.

“We are thankful for the exceptional level of interest the Fight Covid-19 Social Bond has raised across the world, as the African Development Bank moves towards lessening the social and economic impact of the pandemic on a continent already severely constrained. Our Social bond program enables us to highlight our strong development mandate to the investor community, allowing them to play a part in improving the lives of the people of Africa. This was an exceptional outcome for an exceptional cause,” said Hassatou Diop N’Sele, Treasurer, African Development Bank.

Fight Covid-19 was allocated to central banks and official institutions (53%), bank treasuries (27%) and asset managers (20%). Final bond distribution statistics were as follows: Europe (37%), Americas (36%), Asia (17%) Africa (8%,) and Middle-East (1%).