Browsing by Author "Kwiringira, Japheth Nkiriyehe"

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Experiences of gender based violence among refugee populations in Uganda: evidence from four refugee camps
(Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review., 2018-01) Kwiringira, Japheth Nkiriyehe; Mutabazi, Marion Mugisha; Mugumya, Firminus; Kaweesi, Edward; Munube, Deogratias; Rujumba, Joseph
In refugee generating situations, flight conditions and actual refugee circumstances, Gender Based Violence take different forms like rape, female genital mutilation, physical, psychological and emotional abuse, defilement and bride kidnapping in the name of 'early marriage' and sexual harassment among others. These forms are heightened by the adverse conditions of lack of basic needs, unequal power relations, breakdown of institutions of social control and order, exposure to the dangers of group violence and low capacity of protection agencies both local and international, and the host governments. This study intended to detail refugee experiences of Gender Based Violence among refugees in Uganda as well as the associated factors. We conducted a qualitative study and used content-thematic approach analysis. While there was high GBV awareness; this did not translate into reduced susceptibility. Detection, prevention and response to GBV were curtailed by an intersectionality of unequal power relations, poverty, and a multiplicity of cultures that concealed the nature, extent and reality of GBV. Effective GBV prevention requires an array of interventions and 'capacities' especially access to basic needs for individuals and households. Our findings aver that, gender based violence is endemic in peripheral hard to reach, conflict and post-conflict settings than in more stable communities due to underreporting and concealment that are associated with numerous capacity challenges in access and utilisation of the available services. The extreme conditions that refugees go through during displacement, flight and resettlement tend to exacerbate and sustain GBV.
Livelihood risk, culture, and the HIV interface: evidence from lakeshore border communities in Buliisa district, Uganda
(Journal of Tropical Medicine., 2019) Kwiringira, Japheth Nkiriyehe; Ariho, Paulino; Zakumumpa, Henry; Mugisha, James; Rujumba, Joseph; Mugisha, Marion Mutabazi
While studies have focused on HIV prevalence and incidence among fishing communities, there has been inadequate attention paid to the construction and perception of HIV risk among fisher folk. There has been limited research with respect to communities along Lake Albert on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Methods. We conducted a qualitative study on three landing sites of Butiaba, Bugoigo, and Wanseko on the shores of Lake Albert along the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data were collected using 12 Focus Group Discussions and 15 key informant interviews. Analysis was done manually using content and thematic approaches. Results. Lakeshore livelihoods split families between men, women, and children with varying degrees of exposure to HIV infection risk. Sustaining a thriving fish trade was dependent on taking high risks. For instance, profits were high when the lake was stormy. Landing sites were characterized by widespread prostitution, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, and child labour. Such behaviors negatively affected minors and in many ways predisposed them to HIV infection. The lake shore-border heterogeneity resulted in a population with varying HIV knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and competencies to risk perception and adaptation amidst negative masculinities and negative resilience. Conclusion. The susceptibility of lakeshore communities to HIV is attributable to a complex combination of geo-socio, the available (health) services, economic, and cultural factors which converged around the fishing livelihood. This study reveals that HIV risk assessment is an interplay of plural rationalities within the circumstances and constraints that impinge on the daily lives by different actors. A lack of cohesion in a multiethnic setting with large numbers of outsiders and a large transient population made the available HIV interventions less effective.
Urban child poverty in Kampala city, insights from children’s drawings
(Discover Global Society, 2025-08-08) Kwiringira, Japheth Nkiriyehe; Okimait, David; Perry, Elizabeth W.; Akugizibwe, Mathias; Otim, Jude; Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale; Balyejjusa, Moses Senkosi; Mugisha, James; Isabirye, Alone; Rujumba, Joseph
In many urban areas, rapid urbanization, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, has overwhelmed technical and administrative capacity to provide adequate services. This has led to various challenges of urban sustainability, including urban child poverty, known to worsen the cognitive and emotional well-being of such children. We aimed to gain an understanding of and provide evidence on urban child poverty in Uganda through children’s diagrammatic representations of the drivers, effects, and needed interventions. We used children’s drawings, in-depth interpretations of these drawings, and observations. Using a two-stage sampling strategy, data were collected from four poor slum zones within Kampala city. Through purposive sampling, 26 deprived slum dwelling children aged between 7 and 15 years, who were willing to take part in the study, were asked to share their stories regarding their experiences of urban poverty using drawings, and generating narratives about them. Data analysis was done using a participatory design of the code-book, drawing visualization, and analysis. Some verbatim statements were also picked directly from raw data and used to strengthen this analysis and reporting. Children were well conversant with the problem of urban child poverty based on its causes, manifestations, and effects. Children expressed that urban child poverty was linked to domestic violence, lack of parental care, chronic sickness, orphanhood, and the absence of child support services in the community. Effects of urban poverty included the inability to use medical facilities, lack of access to information, ill health, coping with street life through violence, poor shelter, overcrowding, lack of social capital, and being excluded from basic decision-making processes at all levels. There is also a need to build on the available child rights initiatives in urban areas and elsewhere as a means to reduce these urban distortions. Continuous investment in research to present the different experiences of urban vulnerable groups should also be done to underpin evidence-based urban programming.
When will the doctor be around so that I come by?!’ Geo-socio effects on health care supply, access and utilisation: experiences from Kalangala Islands, Uganda
(BMC Health Services Research, 2021-10-26) Kwiringira, Japheth Nkiriyehe; Mugisha, James; Akugizibwe, Mathias; Ariho, Paulino
The study set out to give an in-depth intersection of geo, eco-socio exposition of the factors relating to geography, healthcare supply and utilization in an island setting. This analysis is informed by what has emerged to be known as social epidemiology. We provide in-depth explanation of context to health care access, utilization and outcomes. We argue that health care delivery has multiple intersections that are experientially complex, multi-layered and multi-dimensional to the disadvantage of vulnerable population segments of society in the study area.