Browsing by Author "Visser, J. De"

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    Chewing more than one can swallow: the creation of new districts in Uganda
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2011-07-25) Singiza, D. K.; Visser, J. De
    Introduction: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its 10th outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in 42 years on August 1st 2018. The rapid rise and spread of the EVD outbreak threatened health security in neighboring countries and global health security. The United Nations developed an EVD preparedness and readiness (EVD-PR) plan to assist the nine neighboring countries to advance their critical preparedness measures. In Uganda, EVD-PR was implemented between 2018 and 2019. The World Health Organization commissioned an independent evaluation to assess the impact of the investment in EVD-PR in Uganda. Objectives: i) to document the program achievements; ii) to determine if the capacities developed represented good value for the funds and resources invested; iii) to assess if more cost-effective or sustainable alternative approaches were available; iv) to explore if the investments were aligned with country public health priorities; and v) to document the factors that contributed to the program success or failure. Methods: during the EVD preparedness phase, Uganda's government conducted a risk assessment and divided the districts into three categories, based on the potential risk of EVD. Category I included districts that shared a border with the DRC provinces where EVD was ongoing or any other district with a direct transport route to the DRC. Category II were districts that shared a border with the DRC but not bordering the DRC provinces affected by the EVD outbreak. Category III was the remaining districts in Uganda. EVD-PR was implemented at the national level and in 22 category I districts. We interviewed key informants involved in program design, planning and implementation or monitoring at the national level and in five purposively selected category I districts. Results: Ebola virus disease preparedness and readiness was a success and this was attributed mainly to donor support, the ministry of health's technical capacity, good coordination, government support and community involvement. The resources invested in EVD-PR represented good value for the funds and the activities were well aligned to the public health priorities for Uganda. Conclusion: Ebola virus disease preparedness and readiness program in Uganda developed capacities that played an essential role in preventing cross border spread of EVD from the affected provinces in the DRC and enabled rapid containment of the two importation events. These capacities are now being used to detect and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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    The unresolved ethnic question in Uganda’s District Councils
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2015-09-23) Singiza, D. K.; Visser, J. De
    The Constitution of Uganda of 1995 (the Constitution) recognises 65 indigenous communities in Uganda. It aspires to integrate all the people of Uganda by directing that "[e]verything shall be done to promote a culture of cooperation, understanding, appreciation, tolerance and respect for each other's customs, traditions and beliefs". The Constitution posits five fundamental rights that are particularly relevant to our discussion. These are: equality and freedom from discrimination; respect for human dignity and protection from inhuman treatment; the protection of freedom of conscience and religion; the protection of minorities; and the right to culture and similar rights. Decentralisation to local government is often associated with two important drivers, namely, deepening democracy and pursuing development. In Uganda, a decentralisation agenda was pursued in order to achieve sustainable levels of development, improve the country's democratic governance, sustain political stability, and promote diversity. This article focuses on Uganda's quest to use decentralisation to promote the accommodation of diversity. It is a critical goal as the neglect or even suppression of diversity, be it ethnic, cultural or religious, can be linked to poverty, political despondency, alienation, and civil strife. It may even result in ethnic groups directly challenging the legitimacy of the state. This article examines the legal and constitutional framework for the election of district councils in Uganda because the design and practice of elections in Uganda has an impact on Uganda's ability to follow through on the promise of respecting and encouraging diversity through decentralisation. The article concludes that the law and practice surrounding the election of district councils reveal the political exclusion of ethnic minorities. It is argued that this is contrary to the stated policy objectives of decentralisation in Uganda and only serves to further promote the political dominance of the ruling party.