Uganda: A Poverty Profile
Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations
by David Kalete

Presentation made at –
the ICSW Civil Society Forum on Poverty
February 18, 1999, New York

      Prior to the 1980s, NGOs as a sector and their work were generally not very visible, save for Church-related and missionary activities. Many NGOs were merely perceived as relief or welfare organisations, providing help to the poor and destitute, especially during times of disaster. Whereas the NGO phenomenon is not an entirely new one, the post-1980 rapid growth in numbers of NGOs and resources being deployed to them is certainly new. As a result, the NGO sector is now generally recognised as a strong actor in the development process. The further restriction of the state's developmental role has provided even more room for increased participation by NGOs in the development process. Today, there is no doubt that NGOs are involved in development programmes with broad development objectives and have had a significant socio-economic impact.

     In the past 8-10 years, Uganda has continued to register a positive economic growth rate (averaging 5.5%). Uganda's macro-economic policies have been designed to attain sustained growth through macro-economic stability reforms. There has been elimination of restrictions on foreign trade and on investment. Price controls have been removed, foreign exchange liberalised and reforms in the public sector undertaken. As a result of the macro-economic reforms and because of the conducive climate for foreign investment, the GDP grew by about 7% in 1997/8 and total investment increased from about 15% of GDP in 1997/8 to 19% of GDP in 1998/9. Consumer price inflation has been kept in check (averaging 5%). The private sector has taken full advantage of this conducive climate, resulting in increased income. Despite this impressive record of high GDP growth rates, poverty levels remain unacceptably high with over 40% of the population reported as absolutely poor. The ordinary person still has to benefit from such reforms and the registered growth.

     Perhaps one of the most valid generalisations of poverty in Uganda is that the poor are disproportionately located in the rural areas and are engaged in subsistence agriculture and associated activities. It is interesting to note, however, that despite the rural concentration of poverty (absolute poverty), the largest share of government expenditure and emphasis seems to be directed towards the urban areas in terms of investment in manufacturing and commercial sectors. The civil society and NGOs, in particular, believe that any policy designed to alleviate poverty must necessarily be directed to a large extent toward rural development and, in particular, agriculture. The role of NGOs as channels for improving the lives of the marginalised therefore still stands. This is especially so considering that they are there in touch with the people (especially the marginalised groups) and thus knowledgeable about their needs, realities and aspirations.

     In 1998 Uganda also benefited from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, a framework which seeks to reduce the debt of the world's lowest income nations. Uganda was specifically considered because of its structural adjustment programme. It was rewarded with relief of over US$350 million, although this is only 11% of the total debt stock of US$3.6 billion. Debt however, still remains a major obstacle to economic growth and development in Uganda, as scarce resources are diverted from more pressing domestic needs e.g. education and infrastructure which would have attracted investment. Uganda's debt servicing is about 20% of its earnings from exports. The civil society would like to see the proceeds from debt relief being channelled to the social service sectors.

     Uganda has also enacted land reform which provides security of tenure as a means for agriculture modernisation. However, land reform in itself would be ineffective if there were no corresponding changes in institutions that provide credit to rural farmers. Access to microcredit continues to be a major drawback to agricultural development and poverty alleviation. The role of NGOs in providing microcredit is increasingly being recognised and the government has fortunately initiated steps to provide an enabling policy framework.

Social indicators

     The social indicators in Uganda still remain poor by international standards. This situation is compounded by the gradual withdrawal of the state from the provision of social services like health. As a result, the work of NGOs has become even more relevant either as providers of social services or enablers of the people to cater for themselves.

     One of the most dramatic social policies in Uganda has been universal primary education (UPE), which seeks to freely educate four children per family up to primary seven. The response to this policy has been very impressive, with enrollment in primary schools (of both male and females) almost doubling from 2.8 million to over 5 million by the end of 1997. The increases have especially been registered in the rural areas of the country. The civil society warmly welcomes this policy. Higher literacy levels will enable an increasingly large population to acquire or begin acquiring the intellectual “baggage” needed to be able to act as informed citizens. It would however be prudent if the UPE curricula could be directed toward the occupational requirements of the rural populace. This could be in the form of small farm agriculture and entrepreneurial skills in order to make use of their newly-learned skills and knowledge and thereby get returns from it. It is hoped that by widening the base, progress will be consolidated and even accelerated.

     On the health side, the AIDS pandemic has overshadowed the gains in improving the delivery of health care services. Life expectancy in 1997/8 was expected to be 42.6 years which is well below the 1987 estimate of 48.3 years. The government has, however, recognised the role that NGOs and the private sector play in health delivery and has accordingly allocated 1 billion shillings to this sector in the 1998/9 budget, in addition to funding from the World Bank. Other projects in which NGOs have featured heavily include the Early Childhood and Nutrition Project.

     Unfortunately, there are sections of this country which are still experiencing insecurity, notably the northern and western parts of Uganda. People in these areas have suffered a prolonged destruction to production and marketing. This situation calls for special corresponding action and the members of civil society have been involved in peace initiatives to include debates on how best peace can be achieved and advocacy campaigns.

     There has also been a recognition of the importance of information as a resource, not only for good governance but for effective performance as well. A clear example is the way in which corruption has been exposed during this year. From the numerous press reports in 1998, it would appear that corruption has actually increased in the recent years. However, one could also argue that corruption has always been there; what has changed is that it is now being brought to the notice of the people and people have the liberty to question the authorities. In addition, Parliament has been able to fully exercise its role as a check and balance. A number of FM radio stations have been opened up in the country and these have played a role in providing much-needed information. DENIVA has been able to utilise this opportunity by running radio programmes on different aspects throughout the country.

     The NGO sector, however, still faces a number of obstacles that are hampering its rapid development. One of the main constraints has been the fact that they are still insufficiently organised as a sector. This limits their ability and capacity to influence policies that affect them and the people they serve. It has also limited their capacity to effectively interface with government, especially at the local levels.

     Funding has continued to be an issue of serious concern for NGOs (1998, in particular, has seen an 11% decline in development assistance for developing countries from the OECD countries). According to the DENIVA capacity building study, only a few NGOs, in the last 10 years, were able to attract a significantly higher amount of funding than had previously been secured. On the contrary, NGOs have continuously seen their funding decline. As a result, NGOs have increasingly opted for government contracts and the sale of their services for a fee as a means for survival. The bigger crisis is that the small organisations, especially CBOs, are not and never were in a position to apply for government or service contracts, where most of the money is now. The opportunities for these organisations to ever acquire funding is, therefore, very much diminished. In addition, government contracts are being tendered to the private sector as well. This competitive environment implies that NGOs now have to spend an increasingly large amount of time and resources, including highly professional staff to develop technical proposals, in order to attract government funding. In such an environment, CBOs especially, cannot survive.

     Finally, the NGO sector in Uganda today is struggling to assert its own identity. The challenge however, is not so much about the differences between NGOs and Government, but rather what collaborative relationship should exist between the two. The challenge for NGOs now is to assert their own values more confidently and DENIVA is committed to facilitating this process. NGOs are particularly seen as being qualified to play a prominent and unique role in development because of their unique characteristics. These include; their administration costs being far less costly compared to the state, their being less bureaucratic, more capable of implementing substantial activities over a far shorter period, and operational flexibility which enables them to quickly adopt and adapt new development policies and strategies. It is also clear that NGOs are innovative and have pioneered a number of strategies and activities and probably one of the most important characteristics is the fact that they are in touch with the people and thus knowledgeable about their needs, realities and aspirations, especially those of the marginalised groups. It is high time the governments learn how to live with NGOs and to recognise them as an integral part of a strong pluralistic, open and democratic society. Our desire is for a policy that will enhance the participation of NGOs in areas of development which have long been seen as the preserve of governments and intergovernmental authorities, especially where the issues pertain to improving the livelihoods of the marginalised community.

David Kalete is presently a Programme Co-ordinator at the Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA), Uganda. Before joining DENIVA in 1994, David worked for 5 years as an Aid Co-ordinator in the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda.