The Fatal Flaw in Uganda's Covid-19 Emergency Relief Plan
As Uganda struggles through a strict 42-day lockdown amid a devastating new wave of Covid-19 cases, the government risks excluding the poorest citizens from life-saving emergency relief. This is because it is using national ID data to find those in need of Covid relief. Yet millions of the most marginalised aren't on the system. On June 18, 2021 President Yoweri Museveni announced a national lockdown, partly to protect the country's fragile health system which is under immense pressure and running out of oxygen.
A few days later, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said the government would provide emergency cash transfers to the most vulnerable during this health crisis. On July 8, 2021 cash transfers were to be distributed, primarily via mobile money accounts. Officials said that they will rely on data from the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), which administers the national biometric ID, to confirm who gets support. However, if the goal is truly to reach the most vulnerable, targeting those in need is not as easy as the Prime Minister believes - especially if the government is relying on its national digital ID system, writes Dorothy Mukasa, Team Leader at the Unwanted Witness,Uganda, Salima Namusobya, Executive Director at the Initiative for Economic and Social Rights, Uganda and Christiaan van Veen who is a Director of the Digital Welfare State and Human Rights Project at CHRGJ, New York (USA).
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Uganda:
The Fatal Flaw in Uganda's Emergency Relief
African Arguments, 14 July 2021
The government is using national ID data to find those in need of Covid relief. Yet millions of the most marginalised aren't even on the system. Read more »
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Uganda:
Why 7.7m Poor People Missed Covid-19 Money
Monitor, 14 July 2021
More than 7 million Ugandans who can hardly earn or spend Shs3,500 per day missed the government Covid-19 relief cash, according to analysis of the figures from Uganda Bureau of… Read more »
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Uganda:
Covid Relief Payments Launched, Kampala Cash Pends
Monitor, 8 July 2021
By David Vosh Ajuna Read more »
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Uganda:
Inside Opm, UPDF, and Police Covid-19 Cash Deals
Monitor, 5 July 2021
It's usually the habit of government ministries, agencies and departments to award lucrative tenders away from the prying eyes of the public. Read more »
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Uganda:
Covid-19 - Mixed Reactions As Vulnerable Groups Await Cash
Monitor, 2 July 2021
A plan by the government to extend relief cash handouts to selected vulnerable Ugandans hit by the second Covid-19 induced lockdown has elicited mixed reactions from targeted… Read more »
InFocus
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Uganda's new novel coronavirus lockdown restrictions through the end of July 2021, is squeezing many people's ability to earn a living. Street market vendors are forced to cycle, ... Read more »
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Only 1.5% of close to U.S.$281 million that is allocated to social assistance for the vulnerable population reaches intended targets in Uganda, according to the International ... Read more »
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