UGANDA: Why economic development tends to increase social insecurity leading to anger  THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA |  A couple of months ago, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics produced its survey showing that between 2012 and 2017, the number of people living in poverty increased from 19 to 27%. This provided …
Read More »Districts with Elderly Grants see reduced poverty levels
Districts with Elderly grants see reduced poverty levels Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |Â Districts that received grants from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development have seen a drop in poverty levels, according to a recent analysis by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). While poverty levels in districts have …
Read More »Uganda’s faltering fight against poverty
Kampala, Uganda | DICTA ASIIMWE | Â Days after it emerged that the number of Ugandans living below the poverty line has increased to levels last seen twenty years ago, debate amongst experts is raging. But while the figures have raised eyebrows, experts say they are not overly surprised given the …
Read More »Global unemployment down but working poverty rampant: UN
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |Â The global unemployment rate is expected to tick down in 2018, the United Nations said Monday, while warning that far too many workers still live in desperate poverty. The International Labour Organization forecast a worldwide unemployment rate of 5.5 percent this year, a marginal improvement on …
Read More »The poverty of Africa’s elites
THE LAST WORD: Why the tendency of African intellectuals to blame leaders for the failures of our nations is escapism THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I recently had a Twitter debate with Prof. George Ayittey; the Ghanaian author of `Africa Unchained: the blueprint for development’ (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2004) …
Read More »Why our nations remain poor
African elites are victims of their own delusions about distorted history of developed countries THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |Â On Dec.01, I attended the Joseph Mubiru Memorial Lecture hosted by Bank of Uganda and featuring Prof. Ha Joon Chang of the University of Cambridge. A brilliant economist lecturer, …
Read More »Over half Syrian refugees in Lebanon in ‘extreme poverty’: UN
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | More than half of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are now living in extreme poverty, and the vast majority live below the poverty line, the UN’s refugee agency said Friday. According to the UN, more than a million Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon since …
Read More »Africa’s highway to nowhere
Why our continent’s faith in foreign direct investment as a solution to our poverty is a pipedream THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Many presidents in Africa believe the development of our nations will come from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). If a “foreign investor” – most especially a white man …
Read More »Mexican 10-month toddler weighing 28 kilos baffles doctors
Tecomán, Mexico | AFP | Like any other 10-month-old, Luis Manuel Gonzales babbles and touches anything within reach. But he stands out in a stunning and perhaps life-threatening way: he weighs 28 kilos (62 pounds). He might need medical treatment costing a fortune, but his father earns a little over …
Read More »Deadly heat from climate change may hit slums hardest
Miami, United States | AFP |Â With sheet metal roofs, concrete floors, poor ventilation and spotty electricity, crowded urban slums in Africa can expect to get even hotter and deadlier due to global warming, US researchers said Monday. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University analyzed three informal settlements in Nairobi, including the …
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