Over 80% of Kasese residents live below the poverty line
Jun 17, 2007
MORE than 80% of the households in Kasese district live on less that one dollar (sh1,700) a day. A report compiled last month by the Kasese local government and Kasese District Development Network, an NGO, noted that despite several poverty alleviation programmes, the household incomes had remained
By John B.B. Nzinjah
MORE than 80% of the households in Kasese district live on less that one dollar (sh1,700) a day. A report compiled last month by the Kasese local government and Kasese District Development Network, an NGO, noted that despite several poverty alleviation programmes, the household incomes had remained very low.
“The major cause of this is that the district entirely depends on agriculture yet bad weather has been frustrating the farmers for, a long time,†observed Mathina Bwambale, one of the authors.
He said many farmers had received loans from banks and the poor harvest had forced them to sell their land to pay the loans.
The report also noted that 90% of the families do not use mosquito nets because they cannot afford them. This explains why most children dying below the age of five were victims of malaria, he said.
The other problems listed in the report were, poor nutrition, high maternal mortality, high fertility rate, early marriages, inadequate maternity services, poor health services and acute land shortage.
Bwambale encouraged local leaders to initiate self-help projects for the people. “It is only Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, who came up with a cassava-growing project.â€
MORE than 80% of the households in Kasese district live on less that one dollar (sh1,700) a day. A report compiled last month by the Kasese local government and Kasese District Development Network, an NGO, noted that despite several poverty alleviation programmes, the household incomes had remained very low.
“The major cause of this is that the district entirely depends on agriculture yet bad weather has been frustrating the farmers for, a long time,†observed Mathina Bwambale, one of the authors.
He said many farmers had received loans from banks and the poor harvest had forced them to sell their land to pay the loans.
The report also noted that 90% of the families do not use mosquito nets because they cannot afford them. This explains why most children dying below the age of five were victims of malaria, he said.
The other problems listed in the report were, poor nutrition, high maternal mortality, high fertility rate, early marriages, inadequate maternity services, poor health services and acute land shortage.
Bwambale encouraged local leaders to initiate self-help projects for the people. “It is only Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, who came up with a cassava-growing project.â€