The National Research Repository of Uganda - NRU

Welcome to the National Research Repository of Uganda, abbreviated as "NRU". NRU was established in 2021. NRU is a collection of scholarly output by researchers from the UNCST Community, including scholarly articles and books, electronic theses and dissertations, conference proceedings, journals, technical reports and digitised library collections. It is the official Institutional Archive (IA) of UNCST.

For information about the publishers' copyright policy on archiving your articles online or in an institutional archive, visit the Sherpa Site at http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo.php The site gives a summary of the permissions normally given as part of each publisher's copyright transfer agreement. If you wish to publish your research findings in the NRU, please contact NRU administrator at admin@uncst.go.ug for details. NRU operates both open access and closed access models. Access to fulltext has been restricted in adherence to the UNCST Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Copyrights policies.

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Africa Portal is an online repository of open access library collection with over 3,000 books, journals, and digital documents on African policy issues. This is an initiative by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Makerere University (MAK), and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Please visit the Africa Portal at http://www.africaportal.org/library.

Communities in NRU

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 10

Books and Book Abstracts
This community contains Open Access Books and Book Abstracts
Conference Proceedings
This community contains Ugandan Conference proceedings
Institutional Annual Research Reports
This community contains consolidated Ugandan Institutional Annual Research Reports on a broad range of subjects
Institutional Repository Policies
This community contains approved and running institutional repository policies from different research institutions
IT DevOps Communinity
IT DevOps Community

Recent Submissions

Modeling food security status among beans and maize farming households in Uganda
(Springer International Publishing, 2026-04-02)
Watsala, Derrick;
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Wamono, Felix;
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Asiimwe, John Bosco
Food security is a critical pillar of household welfare, yet modeling its determinants is often complicated by over-dispersed data and an excess of food-secure households (zeros). This study identifies the sociodemographic, economic, and institutional drivers of food security among households engaged in bean and maize farming in Uganda, providing evidence for targeted resilience-building policies. Using secondary data from the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) Impact Evaluation Survey ( n = 1,428), food security was measured as the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), a nine-item experiential tool (0–27). To address the high proportion of zeros representing both “structurally” secure and “period-secure” households, a multivariate Zero–Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) regression was employed. This two-part framework technically justifies the distinction between the drivers of permanent food security and the drivers of insecurity severity. Although HFIAS is a bounded sum, post-estimation diagnostics confirmed the model’s appropriateness for this sample, with 100% of scores falling within the 0–22 range, avoiding “boundary leakage.” Model robustness was further validated using the Likelihood Ratio tests of alpha, the Vuong test, and Rootogram diagnostics. Results are reported as Incidence Rate Ratios (IRRs) for the count process and coefficients for the inflation process. The count model revealed that higher education level (Secondary IRR = 0.68; Tertiary IRR = 0.63, ( p < 0.01) and larger farm size (IRR = 0.98, ( p = 0.012) significantly reduced the intensity of food insecurity. Conversely, being widowed or divorced (IRR = 1.41, p = 0.043) and residing in the Western region (IRR = 1.27, p = 0.008) significantly increased insecurity severity. The inflation model demonstrated that tertiary education and farm size were primary predictors of “structural food security,” significantly increasing the probability of a household being consistently food secure. Food security in Uganda is driven by a two-stage process where the level of education and land assets govern both long-term resilience and the intensity of hunger shocks. Policymaking should pivot toward region-specific, literacy-sensitive interventions and social protection for widowed heads of households. Strengthening secondary education and addressing land fragmentation are essential to moving smallholders beyond transient security toward structural resilience.
Ethnomathematics and Ugandan basketry: an innovative pedagogical tool in teaching and learning school mathematics
(Taylor & Francis Group, 2026-06-09)
Marjorie Sarah Kabuye Batiibwe;
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Johan Lie
This study explores how indigenous Ugandan basketry can be integrated into lower secondary school mathematics instruction as a culturally responsive pedagogical resource. Using a qualitative multi-case ethnographic approach, data were collected from indigenous basket weavers, secondary school mathematics teachers, and mathematics teacher educators across four regions of Uganda through interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and document analysis. The analysis identified mathematical concepts embedded in basketry, including geometry, measurement, ratio and proportion, symmetry, and pattern. The findings indicate that basketry can serve as a meaningful context for teaching and learning mathematics by connecting abstract concepts to learners’ cultural experiences. A prototype lesson plan is presented to illustrate how this approach may be implemented in classroom practice. Overall, the study suggests that integrating basketry into mathematics instruction offers a promising pathway for supporting culturally responsive pedagogy and enhancing conceptual understanding.
Surgical outcomes of congenital heart disease in African pediatric populations: a systematic review
(Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2026-01-22)
Anthony, Chidera Stanley;
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Ogieuhi, Ikponmwosa Jude;
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Entonu, Alexander Idu ;
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Bob-Ume, Nwamaka Chidera;
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Akinmeji, Olufemi;
Background Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of child morbidity and mortality across Africa. Despite increased recognition of CHD as a significant public health challenge, surgical services remain geographically and institutionally limited. Individual reports and studies have shown widely varied surgical outcomes for pediatrics in Africa. Hence, there is a need to obtain consolidated evidence on these outcomes to guide policies. This study systematically analyzes the surgical outcomes of CHD among African pediatric populations. Method Using the PRISMA guidelines, we searched databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and AJOL. Boolean operators (AND, OR) were used appropriately to combine the keywords. We then screened articles for eligibility, ensuring that only studies with surgical interventions comprising the pediatric African population were selected. Results A total of 2,843 records were screened, of which 18 eligible studies were included. The median age of the included population ranged from about 2 years to 15 years. The postoperative mortality ranged from approximately 0% to 13%. In many cases, patients presented late, often with advanced disease and comorbidities. The median hospital stay ranged from 7 to 19 days. Centers with locally trained cardiac surgeons had better survival rates than those reliant solely on visiting international missions. Conclusion There are wide systemic inequities in terms of the availability of surgical services and outcome measures such as mortality and complications. There is a need to invest adequately in pediatric cardiac programs to ensure the availability of highly-skilled local cardiologists and adequate infrastructure.
Social determinants of academic performance among undergraduate health professional students at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda
(Springer International Publishing, 2026-02-02)
Namwase, Joyce;
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Maling, Samuel;
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Opolot, Ismail ;
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Kyomya, Julius;
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Ouma, Ronald Omolo;
Abstract Background Academic performance among health professional students is influenced by social determinants. This study assessed factors associated with academic performance among undergraduate health professional students at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Uganda. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 335 undergraduate students using a self-administered questionnaire. Academic performance was categorized as poor or good. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors independently associated with poor academic performance. Results Of the 335 students (mean age 23.86 ± 6.4 years), 70.8% demonstrated good academic performance. In multivariable analysis, female students had significantly higher odds of poor academic performance compared with male students (AOR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.01–3.78). Third-year students were more likely to have poor academic performance than fifth-year students (AOR = 4.27; 95% CI: 1.06–17.20). In contrast, students with high online social media engagement had significantly lower odds of poor academic performance compared with those with low engagement (AOR = 0.30; 95% CI: 0.12–0.74). Conclusion Female gender and being in the third year of study were associated with higher odds of poor academic performance, while high online social media engagement was associated with lower odds of poor academic performance. Targeted academic support for vulnerable student groups and structured approaches to online engagement may help improve academic outcomes.
Integrating indigenous knowledge into agricultural research and development: a pathway to landrace preservation and food security
(Taylor & Francis Group, 2026-07-07)
Kiconco, Christine;
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Okello-Obura, Constant;
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Lindh, Maria
Despite growing recognition of the importance of indigenous landraces for food security amidst climate change, many landraces continue to disappear worldwide. Research notes that integrating indigenous knowledge (IK) into modern science can support landrace preservation. However, progress varies across countries. This study tries to fill this gap in Uganda by examining the state of IK integration into agricultural research and development (AR&D). A mixed-methods approach was used to collect data in all Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institutes (ZARDIs) across Uganda. Data collection included surveys with 101 agricultural researchers, interviews with nine research directors, eight information officers, and document analysis. The findings reveal that IK integration remains limited, due to weak policies, negative perceptions of IK, and dependence on donor-driven research. Where integration occurs, findings show that it is ad hoc and focused on scientific approaches, often ignoring IK’s cultural aspects. As a result, IK and related landraces are sidelined, raising their extinction risk. To preserve landraces effectively, requires policy realignment to prioritize IK in research agendas and budgets and, a holistic approach that incorporates both scientific and cultural aspects of IK to strengthen IK’s contribution to food security.