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This paper critically evaluates the transition from crisis to development in northern Uganda from the perspective of agricultural service provision. It contributes to debates on how efforts to link relief to rehabilitation and development may bypass the underlying challenges in linking humanitarian aid to prevailing national development policies and structures. This paper is based on research into agricultural services undertaken in Pader district, northern Uganda, between 2010 and 2012. It studied the interplay between humanitarian interventions and the parallel development of the government's agricultural departments and services in northern Uganda. The article brings out how Ugandan agricultural policies do not suit the post-conflict realities of northern Uganda. The evolving policies affect power relations and processes of inclusion and exclusion in northern Uganda. As a result, at the time that the government is ready to integrate northern Uganda into the mainstream development of agricultural policy, the gap between addressing humanitarian needs and development has become larger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews, first, Uganda's economic policies affecting the industrial sector and analyses the international competitiveness of Uganda's manufacturing industries, using a sample of 21 firms in 12 industries. It computes indices of comparative advantage, export and domestic competitiveness and compares the Ugandan indicators with those of Kenyan firms. It also identifies the main sources and obstacles to competitiveness using a decomposition method, which breaks the unit cost indices down into their main components. The study is timely as Uganda is re-establishing a free trade zone with Kenya and Tanzania, and also faces liberalized trade with the rest of the world. The numerical results of the study suggest that Ugandan firms, although not generally cost-competitive with Kenyan and other international firms, due to the country's land-locked geography and its de-industrialization under the preceding political regimes, have benefited from a recently established business-friendly environment and are more competitive in several industries than is generally assumed. This means that they may not be able to export internationally, but they are likely to hold their ground against Kenyan imports under regional free trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disability adjusted life years (DALYs) associated with injuries have increased by 34% from 1990 to 2010, making it the 10th leading cause of disability worldwide, with most of the burden affecting low-income countries. Although disability from injuries is often preventable, limited access to essential surgical services contributes to these increasing DALY rates. Similar to many other low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), Uganda is plagued by a growing volume of traumatic injuries. The aim of this study is to explore the orthopaedic trauma patient's experience in accessing medical care in Uganda and what affects the injury might have on the socioeconomic status for the patient and their dependents. We also evaluate the factors that impact an individual's ability to access an appropriate treatment facility for their traumatic injury. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients 18 year of age or older admitted with a fractured tibia or femur at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. As limited literature exists on the socioeconomic impacts of disability from trauma, we designed a descriptive qualitative case study, using thematic analysis, to extract unique information for which little has been previously been documented. This methodology is subject to less bias than other qualitative methods as it imposes fewer preconceptions. Data analysis of the patient interviews (n = 35) produced over one hundred codes, nine sub-themes and three overarching themes. The three overarching categories revealed by the data were: 1) the importance of social supports; 2) the impact of and on economic resources; and 3) navigating the healthcare system. Limited resources to fund the treatment of orthopaedic trauma patients in Uganda leads to reliance of patients on their friends, family, and hospital connections, and a tremendous economic burden that falls on the patient and their dependents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using district-level data for 1992, 1995, and 1999, the study estimated effects of different types of government expenditure on agricultural growth and rural poverty in Uganda. The results reveal that government spending on agricultural research and extension improved agricultural production substantially. This type of expenditure had the largest measured returns to growth in agricultural production. Agricultural research and extension spending also had the largest assessed impact on poverty reduction. Government spending on rural roads also had a substantial marginal impact on rural poverty reduction. The impact of low-grade roads such as feeder roads is larger than that of high-grade roads such as murram and tarmac roads. Education's effects rank after agricultural research and extension, and roads. Government spending in health did not show a large impact on growth in agricultural productivity or a reduction in rural poverty. Additional investments in the northern region (a poor region) contribute the most to reducing poverty. However, it is the western region (a relatively well-developed region) where most types of investment have highest returns in terms of increased agricultural productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the result of a preliminary study on the business community and in particular the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Arua district of northern Uganda. The aim was primarily to test the research instruments for the main study that should result in the design of a business information system (BIS) for northern Uganda that would also support Uganda's economic development. It is assumed that northern Uganda, because of the lack of a BIS, is lagging behind in economic development. The study examined the characteristics of the business community in northern Uganda, business information needs, sources and channels used for accessing business information, problems faced in accessing business information and proposals for designing a viable BIS that will facilitate accessibility to quality information for business transactions. The findings reveal that in order to provide quality business information to the business community in northern Uganda, diverse approaches should be used with a multifaceted means of access. In conclusion the study recommends what features a viable BIS unique to northern Uganda should have. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface between the extension of foreign political aid, the growth of civil society and political and economic development in Uganda presents interesting dilemmas in terms of theory and praxis. This article examines the phenomenal expansion of civil society activity in Uganda - barely a decade ago considered the ‘sick man’ of Africa. It argues that while such a development is welcome, it must be considered in particular against the backdrop of open political activity crystallized in the operation of President Yoweri Museveni's ‘no-party’ National Resistance Movement (NRM) government. The implications of the considerable support extended by the foreign donor community to an experiment with questionable democratic content are examined, along with the nature and character of sectors of civil society and the relationship (particularly in the context of a country like Uganda) of civil society to political society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]