Uganda, a Sub-Saharan African country with one of the highest rates of poverty reduction, yet is still a LIC (low income country), and in fact is one of the poorest countries globally as demonstrated by Hans Rosling's World Health Chart in which Uganda falls in the lowest of four global income levels.
While poverty in Uganda reduced significantly, from 31.1 percent to 19.7 percent between 2006 and 2013 (World Bank 2016 poverty assessment), reduction has since stagnated.
The issue now is to tackle this stagnation of poverty reduction, make poverty a thing of the past in Uganda, and to enable the “pearl of Africa” to achieve the 2040 Vision status of a middle income country for its people who are willing participants to make this possible.
Per the Borgen Project, Uganda is lacking important non-monetary resources. These include sufficient sanitation, access to electricity, health and well-being, education and nutrition. Poverty remains because
- Safety net programs are only 1% of GDP vs. 2.8% average for Sub Saharan Africa.
- Disease from the lack of family planning and poor health and heath care impacts poverty and productivity.
- Further improvements in productivity are needed
- The lack of skilled labor
Recognizing the current issue of furthering and sustaining the poverty eradication that Uganda has achieved since 2006, With Women Kisoboka recognizes the opportunity for these bright and driven women we work with to be a part of inclusive value chains that are identified to achieve improved sanitation, access to electricity, health and well-being, education, and nutrition and tackling the effects of climate change.
To achieve sustainability, we work in partnership with local NGOs and CBOs to recognize the opportunities and challenges before us. To embrace the complexity and adaptability of each community’s social system, With Women Kisoboka’s local partners will use their respective organization, with women as system entrepreneurs, to influence the system within which they work, promoting shared values and principles and to contribute to the community’s business and development goals.
The Gender Gap in Uganda
"Gender parity has a fundamental bearing on whether or not economies and societies thrive. Developing and deploying one-half of the world’s available talent has a huge bearing on the growth, competitiveness and future-readiness of economies and businesses worldwide." - WEF Gender Gap Report 2020
The World Economic Forum Gender Gap 2022 Report recognizing the compounded global crises—the rising cost of living, the ongoing pandemic, the climate emergency and large-scale conflict and displacement—the progress towards gender parity is stalling. In Sub-Saharan Africa, however, the region registers the highest gender gap score in 16 years. At the present rate it would take 98 years to close the gap in the region, ranking ahead of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
The UNDP Human Development Report 2021-2022 places Uganda in the lowest human development category with a ranking of 166/191 and a gender inequality ranking of 131/191 although focuses on the novel layers of uncertainty during this time and calls for creativity, innovation and a nimble response to bring down barriers to people’s imaginations, identities and networks, to expand the idea of what is possible in people’s lives
GLOBAL INDEX
Country Rank Score/Global 61/146
Country Rank Score/Regional 11/36
Rank Score (0-1) 0.724
ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION AND OPPORTUNITY
Country Rank Score 73/146
Rank Score (0-1) 0.696
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Country Rank Score 122/146
Rank Score (0-1) 0.924
HEALTH AND SURVIVAL
Country Rank Score 1/146
Rank Score (0-1) 0.98
POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT
Country Rank Score 46/146
Rank Score (0-1) 0.294
GLOBAL INDEX
Country Rank Score 65/153
Rank Score (0–1) 0.717
ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION AND OPPORTUNITY
Score (0–1) 82
Rank Score (0–1) 0.663
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Score (0–1) 129
Rank Score (0–1) 0.914
HEALTH AND SURVIVAL
Score (0–1) 1
Rank Score (0–1) 0.980
POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT
Score (0–1) 35
Rank Score (0–1) 0.309
GLOBAL INDEX
Country Rank Score 43/140
Rank Score (0–1) 0.724
ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION AND OPPORTUNITY
Score (0–1) 55
Rank Score (0–1) 0.700
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Score (0–1) 126
Rank Score (0–1) 0.913
HEALTH AND SURVIVAL
Score (0–1) 1
Rank Score (0–1) 0.980
POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT
Score (0–1) 32
Rank Score (0–1) 0.305