Uganda

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Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a country in East Africa, bordered on the east by Kenya, the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.

Nilotic people including Luo and Ateker entered the area from the north, probably beginning about A.D. 120. They were cattle herders and subsistence farmers who settled mainly the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some Luo invaded the area of Bunyoro and assimilated with the Bantu there, establishing the Babiito dynasty of the current Omukama (ruler) of Bunyoro-Kitara.^[1] Luo migration proceeded until the 16th century, with some Luo settling amid Bantu people in Eastern Uganda, with others proceeding to the western shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Tanzania. The Ateker (Karimojong and Teso) settled in the north-eastern and eastern parts of the country, and some fused with the Luo in the area north of Lake Kyoga.

Arab traders moved inland from the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa in the 1830s. They were followed in the 1860s by British explorers searching for the source of the Nile. Protestant missionaries entered the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries in 1879.^[2] The United Kingdom placed the area under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, and ruled it as a protectorate from 1894. As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914.

Idi Amin took power in 1971, ruling the country with the military for the coming decade.^[3] Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans' lives. He forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Indian minority from Uganda, decimating the economy. His reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979 in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda. This led to the return of Obote, who was deposed once more in 1985 by General Tito Okello. Okello ruled for six months until he was deposed after the so called "bush war" by the National Resistance Army (NRM) operating under the leadership of the current president, Yoweri Museveni.

Museveni has been in power since 1986. In the mid to late 1990s, he was lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders. His presidency has been fouled, however, by involvement in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other conflicts in the Great Lakes region, as well as the civil war against the Lord's Resistance Army.

Contents 1 Politics 2 Conflict 3 Geography 4 Administrative divisions 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Religion 8 AIDS prevention 9 Culture and sport 10 Human rights 11 References 12 See also 13 External links 14 Geographic locale

[edit] Politics

Main article: Politics of Uganda

The President of Uganda, currently Yoweri Museveni, is both head of state and head of government. The president appoints a prime minister who aids him in his tasks. The current prime minister is Apollo Nsibambi. The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has 303 members. Eighty-six of these members are nominated by interest groups, including women and the army. The remaining members are elected for five-year terms during general elections.

In a measure ostensibly designed to reduce sectarian violence, political parties were restricted in their activities from 1986. In the non-party "Movement" system instituted by Museveni, political parties continued to exist but could not campaign in elections or field candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A constitutional referendum cancelled this nineteen-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005.

The presidential elections were held in February 2006. Museveni ran against several candidates, the most prominent of whom was exiled Dr. Kizza Besigye. Museveni was declared the winner in the elections, however international election observers did not condemn the election results, or endorse the electoral process.^{[citation needed]} Despite technically democratic elections, harassment of opposition had started months earlier in the form of disturbing of opposition campaign, detention of activists, rape and other criminal allegations against Besigye and use of state funds for electoral campaigning.^{[citation needed]}.

Museveni's tenure in office has been marred by massive corruption and embezzlement of public funds by a small section of the population.

[edit] Conflict

The conflict between the Government of Uganda and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has been described by the UN as the ‘world’s most neglected crisis’. The conflict has resulted in the displacement of 1.7 million people from their homes into camps in the north and north-east. These are frequently overcrowded, with poor water and sanitation facilities and difficulty getting food. People returning to their homes find many of them have been destroyed, along with water pumps and sanitation resources.

The British Red Cross is working through the Ugandan Red Cross to support thousands of displaced people by providing basic water and sanitation, as well as distributing seeds, tools and other relief items.

During 2006, the situation showed signs of improvement with 300,000 people returning home. The Government of South Sudan has been facilitating peace talks between representatives from the LRA and the Government of Uganda. As a result, there have been fewer reported cases of atrocities and abductions and the security situation has greatly improved. Access to safe water in areas where people have returned is low and infrastructure is limited. Many who have returned to their villages continue to use the camp water points to access safe water or walk considerable distances in search of water.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Uganda

Although landlocked, Uganda has access to several large water bodies, including Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga and Lake Edward. The country is located on the East African plateau, averaging about 900 metres (2,950 ft) above sea level. Although generally tropical in nature, the climate differs between parts of the country. Uganda includes several offshore islands in Lake Victoria. Most important cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including the capital Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Main articles: Districts of Uganda and Counties of Uganda

Uganda is divided into eighty districts, spread across four administrative regions: Northern, Eastern, Central and Western. The districts are subdivided into counties. A number of districts have been added in the past few years, and eight others were added on July 1, 2006.^[4] Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative towns. Each district is divided into sub-districts, counties, sub-counties like Rukoni, parishes and villages.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Uganda

Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force, with coffee accounting for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government (with the support of foreign countries and international agencies) has acted to rehabilitate an economy decimated during the regime of Idi Amin and subsequent civil war.

During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export.^[5] According to IMF statistics, in 2004 Uganda's GDP per-capita reached 300 dollars, a much higher level than in the Eighties but still at half of Sub-Saharan African average income of 600 dollars per year. Total GDP crossed the 8 billion dollar mark in the same year.

[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Uganda

See also: Languages of Uganda

Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom form a majority of the population. Around forty different languages are regularly and currently in use in the country. English became the official language of Uganda after independence.

The most widely spoken language in Uganda is Luganda, spoken predominantly in the urban concentrations of Kampala, the capital city, and in towns and localities in the Buganda region of Uganda which encompasses Kampala. This is also the primary language through which commercial transactions are coordinated, in large part because over 50% of Ugandan commerce is transacted in Kampala. The Ateso language follows, spoken by about 4.2 million people covering seven Districts in the Eastern part of the country.

Swahili, a widely used language throughout eastern and central Africa, has had little relevance in Uganda where it has been used primarily in military circles and in the police. Though important in Kenya and Tanzania, Swahili has not been accepted in Uganda. Although few people in Uganda speak it, the decision by Parliament to make Swahili a second official national language was perhaps motivated by the intentions of politicians to continue efforts to compel Ugandans to speak it. Uganda's 1995 constitution did not originally recognize the official and national status of Swahili as it was controversial and many delegates voted it down, though many people made attempts to introduce it as a second national language. The parliament voted in September 2005 to once again make Swahili the country's second official national language.

[edit] Religion

Main article: Religion in Uganda

According to the 2002 National Census, Christians of all denominations made up 85.1% of Uganda's population. The Catholic Church has the largest number of adherents (41.9%), followed by the Anglican Church of Uganda (35.9%). The second most popular religion of Uganda is Islam, with Muslims representing 12.1% of the population. The CIA Factbook estimate for the number of Muslims is 16%.

The Census lists only 1% of Uganda's population as following Traditional Religions, and 0.7% are classified as 'Other Non-Christians,' including Hindus. Judaism is also practiced in Uganda by a small number of native Ugandans known as the Abayudaya. One of the seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship is located on the outskirts of Kampala.

The regime of Idi Amin favoured Islam, as well as expelling many of the Asian-Ugandans who had practiced Hinduism and persecuting the Abayudaya. A significant number of Hindus returned after Museveni came to power, while the number of Abayudaya grew from a low of 300 practitioners.

[edit] AIDS prevention

Further information: AIDS in Africa

Uganda has been hailed as a rare success story in the fight against HIV and AIDS, widely being viewed as the most effective national response to the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. President Museveni established the AIDS Control Program (ACP) within the Ministry of Health (MOH) to create policy guidelines for Uganda’s fight against HIV/AIDS. Uganda quickly realized that HIV/AIDS was more than a ‘health’ issue and in 1992 created a “Multi-sectoral AIDS Control Approach.” In addition, the Uganda AIDS Commission, also founded in 1992, has been instrumental in developing a national HIV/AIDS policy. A variety of approaches to AIDS education have been employed, ranging from the promotion of condom use to 'abstinence only' programmes. To further Uganda's efforts in establishing a comprehensive HIV/AIDS program, in 2000 the MOH implemented birth practices and safe infant feeding counseling. According to the WHO, around 41,000 women received Preventing Mother To child Transmission (PMTCT) services in 2001.^{[citation needed]} Uganda was the first country to open a Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) clinic in Africa and pioneered the concept of voluntary HIV testing centers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The scope of Uganda's success has come under scrutiny from new research. Research published in The Lancet medical journal in 2002 questions the dramatic decline reported. It is claimed statistics have been distorted through the inaccurate extrapolation of data from small urban clinics to the entire population, nearly 90 per cent of whom live in rural areas.^[6] Also, recent trials of the HIV drug nevirapine have come under intense scrutiny and criticism.^[7]

US-sponsored abstinence promotions have received recent criticism from observers for denying young people information about any method of HIV prevention other than sexual abstinence until marriage. Human Rights Watch says that such programmes "leave Uganda’s children at risk of HIV".^[8] Alternatively, the Roman Catholic organization Human Life International says that "condoms are adding to the problem, not solving it" and that "The government of Uganda believes its people have the human capacity to change their risky behaviors."^[9] People in Uganda are also being taught the ABCD's. A=Abstinence, B=Be Faithful, C=Condom use, or D=Death. This slogan is used to help people understand that they need to either abstain or use a condom, and also be faithful to their partners, or they will die.

[edit] Culture and sport

Main article: Culture of Uganda

Due to the large number of ethnic communities, culture within Uganda is diverse. Many Asians (mostly from India) who were expelled during the regime of Amin have returned to Uganda.

• Music of Uganda
• List of writers from Uganda

[edit] Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Uganda

Respect for human rights in Uganda has been advanced significantly since the mid-1980s. There are, however, numerous areas which continue to attract concern.

Conflict in the northern parts of the country continues to generate reports of abuses by both the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan army. Torture continues to be a widespread practice amongst security organizations. Attacks on political freedom in the country, including the arrest and beating of opposition Members of Parliament, has led to international criticism, culminating in May 2005 in a decision by the British government to withhold part of its aid to the country. The arrest of the main opposition leader Kizza Besigye and the besiegement of the High Court during a hearing of Besigye's case by a heavily armed security forces – before the February 2006 elections – led to condemnation.^[10]

Child Abduction Crisis: Recent grassroots organizations have been attempting to raise awareness about the growing numbers of children who are being kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army to work as soldiers. Thousands of children as young as eight are being captured and forced to kill. The documentary film "Invisible Children" illustrates the terrible lives of the children who are forced to leave their villages and walk many miles each night to avoid abduction.^[11]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Christianity in Uganda
• Islam in Uganda
• The Uganda Scouts Association
• Military of Uganda
• List of national parks of Uganda
• List of Uganda-related topics

[edit] External links

Overviews

• BBC News Country Profile - Uganda
• CIA World Factbook - Uganda
• Open Directory Project - Uganda directory category
• US State Department - Uganda includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• Business Anti-Corruption Portal Uganda Country Profile

Find more information on Uganda by searching Wikipedia's sister projects
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News

• allAfrica.com - Uganda
• Monitor independent national newspaper
• New Vision government-owned national newspaper
• Business Week business news for Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda
• The Weekly Observer independent national newspaper
• Kampala Online News, commentaries and community tools
• UGPulse.com News and articles on various subjects
• My Uganda news and community

Other

• Red Cross Uganda update from Red Cross
• Uganda Tourist Board official site
• Uganda Bureau of Statistics official site
• Uganda travel guide from Wikitravel
• Uganda Travel Guide & Directory, Travel guide to Uganda
• Uganda Web Directory, Listings on Uganda

[edit] Geographic locale