‘30% of Ugandans lack enough food

May 25, 2009

ABOUT 30% of Ugandans lacked enough food in the past one year, according to the latest Afrobarometer survey.

By Conan Businge and Jeff Lule

ABOUT 30% of Ugandans lacked enough food in the past one year, according to the latest Afrobarometer survey.

About 4% of respondents said they or their families “always” lacked enough food, 9% said they had suffered “many times” from lack of food, while another 18% said they went “several times” without enough food.

Uganda scores slightly better than Kenya or Tanzania, two other countries in the region sampled, although it has a higher percentage of people who say they always lacked sufficient food.

The survey did not explain what “enough food” means. It also did not verify if what respondents said was actually the truth.

On access to water, about 30% of Ugandans said they either always, many times or several times went without enough clean water for home use in the past one year.

Uganda scores about the same as Kenya, but better than Tanzania where 43% say they always or at times lack clean water.

As to having access to cash, Kenya scored the worst with 72% of respondents saying they have either permanently or occasionally been without an income, followed by Uganda (67%) and Tanzania (66%).

Of all Ugandans, only 14% never lived without cash in their pockets or bank accounts.

Key finding of the Afrobarometer also show that poverty in Uganda has declined in recent years. While 57% of Ugandans lived on less than $1.25 per day in 2002, this proportion went down to 51% in 2005.

Examining trends across 17 countries between 2005 and 2008, the survey found that poverty fell only in those countries that achieved growth rates of 5.5% per year or higher.

It also found a substantial correlation between poverty levels and indicators of political freedom. “Higher levels of political freedoms are associated with lower levels of lived poverty,” the study says.

Ugandans are not very optimistic about the economic state of their country, according to the Afrobarometer.

More than half (52%) characterise the present economic condition as bad, only 27% say they are better off than a year ago, and only 37% expect the future to be better.

However, they are still more positive than Kenyans and Tanzanians. Almost 80% of Kenyans and 56% of Tanzanians consider the economic condition of their country bad, while only 26% of Kenyans and 28% of Tanzanians believe the future will be better.

On corruption, Ugandans have the least confidence in the Police, tax officials and government officials. Two thirds of Ugandans think most policemen are corrupt, while over half believe most tax collectors and government officials are involved in corruption.

Traditional leaders inspire the most confidence, with only 12% of respondents considering them corrupt, followed by Parliament (36%) and the President or State House officials (39%).

However, asked if they were involved in corruption, the majority of respondents said they “never” had to pay a bribe to obtain a document or a permit, have access to water or sanitation services or avoid a problem with the Police.

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