Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12504/532

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Browsing Journal Articles by Subject "Uganda"

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    Customary land acquisition and tenure security in refugee-host communities: an impact assessment
    (African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences, 2025-10-14) Nagujja, Sophia Lukabwe
    Context and background: Countries addressing the global refugee crisis are increasingly shifting from reliance on refugee camps or forced repatriation to promoting local integration. In Uganda, government grants refugees’ free access to customary land which is voluntarily acquired from communities on a ‘no monetary policy’. However, customary land is often characterized by poorly defined and undocumented land rights, creating challenges for both refugees and host communities. These challenges are compounded by inadequate land acquisition processes that undermine the tenure security of host communities and, consequently, affect refugees’ accessibility to land. Goal and Objectives: The article examined the impact of customary land acquisition for refugee on tenure security of land rights holders and refugees. This was done by critically analysing the current rules and procedures implemented in customary land acquisition for refugee settlement in North western Uganda. It also assessed the alignment of the rules and procedures with international standard of voluntary land donation and finally, evaluated how this alignment impacts the tenure security of both host communities and refugees. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was employed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from customary land donors, refugees, host community members, and key officials involved in the customary land acquisition process. Descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data were examined using Gale et al.'s (2013) seven-step Framework Method. A comparative analytical framework was applied to assess the extent to which land acquisition practices aligned with, or deviated from, recognised international Voluntary Land Donation (VLD) standards and their impact on tenure security of host communities and refugees. The results: The study revealed that current procedural rules are routinely bleached, with key protective measures for vulnerable land donors notably absent. The land acquisition process was marked by coercive and exploitative practices by the government toward vulnerable communities. Such as include offering social services in exchange for land, acquiring more than 10% of the total productive land, and leaving communities more impoverished due to land donations. These practices, observed across various stages of customary land acquisition, rendered the land acquisition process non-compliant with internationally recognized Voluntary Land Donation (VLD) standards. This non-compliance jeopardized the land rights of donors and undermined the tenure security of entire host communities. Although refugees’ access rights were comparatively better protected, the resulting insecurity among host communities adversely impacted refugee livelihoods, thereby impeding their self-reliance and prospects for sustainable integration.
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    From spatial clusters to annual rainfall: assessing the relationship between rainfall and annual cholera case counts in Uganda
    (BMC Infectious Diseases, 2026-10-27) Tumuhamye, Nathan; Kasasa, Simon; Atuyambe, Lynn M.; Owundo, Steven; Ssengooba, Freddie; Mayega, Roy William
    Background Cholera remains a global public health concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene persist. The transmission of cholera can be influenced by environmental factors, such as rainfall, water availability and sanitation conditions, and contamination sources. Building on a spatial cluster analysis that previously reported cholera hotspot districts in Uganda, this study assessed the relationship between mean annual rainfall and annual cholera case counts in previously identified cholera hotspot districts with high occurrence of such clustering between 2012 and 2022. Methods This study employed a retrospective ecological design to examine the relationship between annual rainfall and annual cholera case counts in previously identified cholera hotspot districts in Uganda using districtlevel data from 2012 to 2022. Cholera surveillance data were obtained from the Ministry of Health, while rainfall data were derived from the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) dataset. Daily rainfall estimates were processed in Google Earth Engine and aggregated to district-level annual rainfall totals. Exploratory analyses included descriptive statistics, scatterplots, and assessments of overdispersion and zero inflation. The relationship between annual rainfall and cholera case counts was evaluated using Generalized estimating equation (GEE) negative binomial regression as the primary analytic approach in Stata version 18. The district-level analyses were conducted as exploratory assessments to examine heterogeneity in rainfall–cholera relationships across hotspot districts. Results Significant spatial and temporal variation in annual rainfall was observed across hotspot districts. Cholera case counts ranged from 0 to 577 cases, with 46 of 154 district-year observations (29.9%) recording no cases. District-level analyses suggested heterogeneity in rainfall-cholera relationships across hotspot districts. In the primary GEE model analysis, annual rainfall showed a positive association with annual cholera case counts, with a 100 mm increase in rainfall corresponding to an estimated 13.2% increase in annual cholera case counts (CR=1.132, 95% CI: 1.024–1.251). However, sensitivity analyses yielded directionally similar but less precise estimates and did not consistently demonstrate statistical significance, suggesting that this finding should be interpreted with appropriate caution.