An increase of safe water provision in the Guinea worm endemic districts has reduced the number of indigenous cases from 126,369 in 1992 to five by December, 2002. There were also 17 imported cases from the Sudan. Dr. J.B Rwakimari, programme manager of the Uganda Guinea Worm Eradication Programme, said water coverage of 74 percent in Guinea Worm endemic districts had contributed to the decrease.

Seven elephants have been killed by ivory poachers in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Uganda Wildlife Authority reports. The six adult elephants and one calf were taken in the first poaching incident in three years, wildlife officials said.

The Ugandan health authorities on Tuesday said several medical teams had been dispatched to districts affected by a cholera epidemic sweeping through most of the country's western regions, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Following the WSIS PrepCom II in Geneva, two basic working documents have been produced: a draft Declaration of Principles and a draft Plan of Action. Comments to the two working documents may be submitted by May 31, 2003. To facilitate contribution to the WSIS working documents and Uganda's input to the WSIS, WOUGNET is hosting an online forum: 'An Information Society for Uganda'. For details and to register, send email to [email protected] or visit:
http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/ug/isug.html

Despite the efforts of South Africa and Uganda to genderize their energy policy, a clear idea of what engendering energy policy is about is still lacking. The study addresses the question: what are the characteristics of a gender-aware energy policy and what conditions, based on the experience of South Africa and the developments in Uganda, enable the integration of gender in a national energy policy?

Children are being abducted in record numbers in northern Uganda by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Human Rights Watch says in a new report. The children are subjected to brutal treatment as soldiers, laborers and sexual slaves. Since June of 2002, an estimated 5,000 children have been abducted-a striking increase from 2001, when fewer than 100 children were abducted.

Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) reportedly killed a government peace envoy on Monday, dampening hopes for a peaceful end to the 17-year insurgency in northern Uganda.

The controversial Bujagali dam project reared its head at the Third World Water Forum held in Japan last week with an expert on hydropower saying lack of democracy was at the heart of the project's failure to attract ready funding. Bujagali, which has become one of Africa's most controversial hydropower projects in the past few years, is already seven years behind schedule. The dam has stalled for seven years now following charges that its environmental assessments were faulty, and that Uganda had given too much away when it negotiated a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the American company AES.

An outbreak of cholera has hit Uganda's western border district of Bundibugyo, killing 23 people over the past month, according to a senior health official in the district.

Is ethnicity the cause for the breakdowns in national unity, democracy and development in Uganda? This paper critically reviews the impact of ethnicity on the democratisation process in Uganda from colonialism to the present. The author argues that ethnicity in Uganda, as elsewhere on the African continent, has been historically constructed and subsequently reproduced. While democratisation may be problematic in the face of ethnic consciousness, the paradox is that the best way to reduce ethnic consciousness is more and not less democratisation.

Ethical trade can be used to describe any trading relationship where social and environmental criteria are used, in addition to the purely economic, to measure performance. What impact has fair trade practice had on rural livelihoods in Uganda? What is needed to sustain such projects?

A former World Health Organisation researcher has said Uganda's "ABC" strategy to combat HIV/AIDS -- Abstinence, Be faithful, use Condoms, in that order -- could cut HIV infections by 80% if expanded across Africa. But international aid workers have rebuffed the policy, calling it a cover for a right-wing agenda.

Uganda Access to Essential Medicines Coalition has voiced concern over comments made in the media regarding antiretroviral use in Uganda. The media recently reported that 10,000 Ugandans now have access to antiretroviral therapy. In a statement on behalf of the coalition, Rosette Mutambi said the 10,000 Ugandans accessing AIDS drugs is just a drop in the ocean.

Uganda has warned Rwanda against fighting a "proxy war" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This follows a Rwandan threat to send its troops back into DR Congo unless Uganda also withdrew.

An attempt to hold peace talks between the presidential peace team and rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has failed. This is the second time peace talks have failed to take place recently. This has led to question marks over the future of efforts to end the 17-year war.

An assessment conducted by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the government of Uganda has revealed that over 31 percent of children, under five years of age, are suffering from acute malnutrition in Anaka camp for displaced people, located in Gulu district, northern Uganda.

The coveted mountain gorillas at the Bwindi National Park are facing new pressures, this time from the very people supposed to protect them. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is allowing more tourists to track the primates than they (primates) can tolerate.

Uganda's rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has declared a ceasefire in northern Uganda to pave the way for talks to end the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in the region, but his gesture has been greeted with a mixture of hope and scepticism.

Members of Parliament will on Tuesday start compiling a report on detainees allegedly tortured by state security agents. The agents allegedly use snakes and crocodiles to force confessions.

Over 2,000 teachers are due to be been transferred in a massive shake-up of staff in secondary schools nationwide.
Some 400 teachers have already received transfer letters.