Browsing by Author "Asingwire, Narathius"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Factors Influencing Equitable Distribution of Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Uganda
    (WaterAid., 2005) Asingwire, Narathius; Muhangi, Dennis; Odolon, John
    Inequitable distribution of water and sanitation services has received national recognition and equity has been adopted as a key theme that should be monitored and measured every year as part of the sector’s performance review. The study revealed that existing policy prescriptions, strategies and guidelines are largely inclusive of equity provisions. The problem is more of policy translations and application at the district and lower levels. The study concluded that, whereas other factor such as natural occurrence of water, hydro-geological factors and availability of funds combine to dictate the choice of technology for water service delivery, political influence seems to be decisive in actual allocation of water points to be constructed especially where there is no accurate information and uncertainty about the technical criteria to use.
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    Governance, Performance and Sustainability of Non‐State Social Protection Services in Uganda
    (Partnership for African Social and Governance Research, 2014) Asingwire, Narathius; Muhangi, Dennis; Namara, Rose; Kemigisa, Margaret
    This study uses qualitative and quantitative approaches to fill gaps in previous studies by shedding more light on the nature, governance, and scope of non-state actors (NSAs) in Uganda and related issues of performance and sustainability. The focus of this study is social protection interventions in three districts in Uganda: Rakai (ravaged by HIV especially in the 1980s and 1990s), Bushenyi (relatively stable) and Kole (post-conflict district). The study found that governance of mutual help groups such as burial groups was based on trust and lacked formal and rigid organisational structures. However, these groups offered crucial and timely interventions for felt and immediate needs that are unmet by either the government or externally funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The study underscores the need for formulating government policy that complements and enables NSAs rather than inhibiting and stifling the effort of these pivotal community-based organisations. Further, the study demonstrates how it behoves the government, which is charged with monitoring NSAs, to enable them to transition into more promotive and transformative entities. The study noted that NSAs are home-grown solutions to challenges of social protection as they depended mainly on resources generated by members rather than relying on external funding. In other words, NSAs respond appropriately to local circumstances, while operating without rigid and formal controls. In the process NSAs demonstrate more longevity and sustainability than NGOs whose programs are time-bound and are focused on specific problems such as dealing with the effects of civil war in Kole district in northern Uganda. Given the pivotal role NSAs play in providing social protection in Uganda, this study demonstrates that public policy should be geared towards minimising or eradicating the tension between NSAs and the government in the volatile regulatory landscape.
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    Impact Evaluation of Youth-Friendly Family Planning Services in Uganda
    (International initiative for impact evaluation, 2019) Asingwire, Narathius; Muhangi, Denis; Kyomuhendo, Swizen; Leight, Jessica
    This final impact evaluation grantee report has been submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of grant UPW.06 awarded under the Uganda Policy Window. 3ie is making it available to the public in this final report version as it was received. The encouragement design in the study did not lead to an increased uptake of the programme and therefore the identification strategy failed.
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    Leveraging community capacity to manage improved point-water facilities
    (2015) Mugumya, Firminus; Munck, Ronaldo; Asingwire, Narathius
    Community-based water management systems (CBWMSs) are now a popular policy strategy for sustainable rural safe water supply in Africa. However, the effectiveness of the model is marred by numerous bottlenecks of varying character and scale. This chapter, which is based on a case study of a rural parish in south-central Uganda, examines some of these bottlenecks. The study indicates that whereas CBWMSs are well known among water-sector actors as desirable for achieving functional sustainability of improved water facilities, conscious actions have not been taken to leverage the effectiveness of these water management systems. This failure is at the very heart of the weaknesses within the new policy frameworks which embrace principles of community participation, privatization, and public–private partnerships. The study advocates a public authority with renewed attention to local conditions that determine CBWMS effectiveness, especially in developing countries like Uganda
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    Paying to Normalize Life: Monetary and Psychosocial Costs of Realizing a Normal Life in the Context of Free Antiretroviral Therapy Services in Uganda
    (Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC), 2019) Kalule Nanfuka, Esther; Kyaddondo, David; Ssali, Sarah N.; Asingwire, Narathius
    Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is considered the treatment that enables people living with HIV (PLHIV) to lead a “normal life”. In spite of the availability of free treatment, patients in resource-poor settings may continue to incur additional costs to realize a normal and full life. This article describes the monetary expenses and psychosocial distress people on free ART bear to live normally. We conducted in-depth interviews with 50 PLHIV on ART. We found that the demands of treatment, poverty, stigma, and health-system constraints interplay to necessitate that PLHIV bear continuous monetary and psychosocial costs to realize local values that define normal life. In the context, access to free medicines is not sufficient to enable PLHIV in resource-poor settings to normalize life. Policy makers and providers should consider proactively complementing free ART with mechanisms that empower PLHIV economically, enhance their problem-solving capacities, and provide an enabling environment if the objective of normalizing life is to be achieved.
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    Social capital and resilience among people living on antiretroviral therapy in resource poor Uganda
    (PLoS ONE, 2018) Kalule Nanfuka, Esther; Kyaddondo, David; Ssali, Sarah N.; Asingwire, Narathius
    Despite the national roll-out of free HIV medicines in Uganda and other sub-Saharan African countries, many HIV positive patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) are at risk of no adherence due to poverty and other structural and health system related constraints. However, several patients exhibit resilience by attaining and sustaining high levels of adherence amid adversity. Social capital, defined as resources embedded within social networks, is key in facilitating resilience but the mechanism through which it operates remains understudied. This article provides insights into mechanisms through which social capital enables patients on ART in a resource-poor setting to overcome risk and sustain adherence to treatment.
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    Sustaining social support for lifelong HIV treatment: Practices of patients on antiretroviral therapy in Uganda
    (International Scholars Journals, 2019) Nanfuka, Esther K.; Kyaddondo, David; Ssali, Sarah N.; Asingwire, Narathius
    Social support is recognized as a critical resource in promoting adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-poor settings. However, supporter burn-out and stigma may constrain access to social support in the long-term. Little is written about how ART clients overcome these barriers to continue accessing support for lifelong treatment. Therefore, this article examines practices that enable HIV patients in a resource-poor setting to overcome the constraints of stigma and burn-out to continue accessing treatment support. The article is based on data from an ethnographic study of 50 patients enrolled on ART at two treatment sites. Fifteen of these patients were followed-up for six months. The main methods of data collection included in-depth interviews and participant observation. Dependent patients overcame the constraints of stigma and burn-out through three main practices: regulating the frequency of requests for assistance, using secrecy and lies, and continuously reconstituting the treatment support group. The study concludes that stigma and burn-out are serious threats to sustaining social support and concomitant adherence to lifelong ART. Integration of mechanisms for empowering patients to manage burn-out and stigma in HIV service delivery may improve prospects for sustained ART adherence in resource-poor settings.