Since the start of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic spread all over the world, countries including Uganda have adopted various measures to contain the spread of the virus and avert a humanitarian catastrophe. These include restricted international travel, closure of schools, imposing nationwide lockdowns, suspension of public, social…
A larger part of the world’s working population earns its livelihood from the informal economy.[1] Informality is herein defined as non-registration of business for taxation and incorporation purpose. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that informal employment comprises about 72 percent of non-agricultural employment in Sub-Saharan Africa and…
Globally, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted education systems forcing learners and some schools to shift to virtual learning to curb the spread of the pandemic. While the pandemic has caused a drastic shift to digital learning spaces for mostly urban and children from well-to-do…
COVID-19 and its containment measures in Uganda, especially lockdowns, have resulted into new inequalities and exacerbated the existing gaps between the rich and the poor, including the vulnerable[1]. However, a more credible and supportive fiscal policy could reduce the intensity and magnitude of the expected increase in socio-economic…
There is a notable shift by some men going out of the way to share some of unpaid care work with their wives, a study has said. These men, however, find themselves being sanctioned by their peers and community, instilling fear in those that would want to follow…
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc and reverse the gains made in creating resilient and sustainable social-economic systems supporting young people’s lives, livelihoods and businesses. For instance, the International Labour Organisation shows that one in six young people aged 18-29 stopped working (about 17.4 percent) because…
While Uganda has seen a jump in sugarcane production, this has come as a result of more land being tilled than improvement in production methods. According to Dr. Swaibu Mbowa, a senior research fellow, at the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), “any gains from sugarcane production in the…
With the likelihood also that new lethal variants may emerge and therefore prolong pandemic pain with lockdown cycles, the government should prudently use the available resources to cushion the impact. This call was made by Dr. Isaac Shinyekwa, the EPRC head of the international trade and integration depart,…
Uganda’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)are “hanging in there” to see the next day with the majority of them far from being resilient, a rapid assessment study by the Economic Policy Research Centre has established. The assessment is part of a three-year study supported by the International…
Uganda is going through the toughest lockdown since being hit by the second wave of COVID-19 in May 2021. As part of the measures to stop the spread of the virus, President Yoweri Museveni placed the country back into lockdown with devastating impacts on businesses and many lives.…