The need for reliable systems: gendered work in Oxfam's Uganda programme

This paper considers the results of a gender review of Oxfam/Great Britain's work in Uganda that sought to determine what gender approaches had been adopted (theoretically and actually) and how they could be improved. After a desk review in the UK, a team conducted a field visit to Uganda where an initial conventional approach that "targeted" women had given way to efforts to conduct an in-depth gender analysis of programs. The team noted that the post of Gender and Development Program Officer in Uganda had been eliminated so that the entire staff would be responsible for addressing gender concerns. The review revealed that the staff exhibited a poor understanding of key concepts, was unwilling to challenge traditional roles and attitudes, deployed ad hoc initiatives, and failed to interact with appropriate local organizations. This situation occurred because of a lack of systematic procedures for planning and evaluation. Also, the fact that there was no extra compensation for staff living in harsh and insecure conditions discouraged female staff from seeking or maintaining positions in the field. Oxfam needs to develop a clear and binding strategy that will spell out the type of social change the Uganda program is seeking, integrate gender concerns, and implement monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. There is also a need to adopt a more political approach to gender concerns by taking advantage of opportunities and confronting attendant risks.     

Farmers,peanuts, and aflatoxins in Uganda: A gendered approach

This article describes a collaborative research for development project that used participatory methods to engage smallholder farmers in Uganda in post-harvest aflatoxin management. It is based primarily on qualitative research with peanut growers tracing ‘the path of the peanut’ through their hand-drawn maps and journal writing. By focusing on everyday life and including recipes and drawings, this research encouraged women's participation and emphasised women's roles. A unique partnership among universities, women's organisations, and farmers created an environment of mutual learning and produced a book documenting food preparation and other post-harvest practices as part of a study and capacity-building effort on peanuts and aflatoxins.     

A water programme in Vietnam and its impact on women

Evaluation is now recognised as an essential component in planning and implementing projects, and is one important means by which recipients can participate in the design process. In Vietnam, the liberalisation of the economic and social life of the country in the last few years has allowed Oxfam the scope to consider long-term development plans. As a first stage, a review of the impact of an Oxfam project on the community was undertaken, paying particular attention to the situation of women. Parts of the findings are explored in this article, to show that one infrastructural input, in this case a pumping station, will have a broad range of consequences for the community concerned. Contrary to expectations, increased production is tending to encourage co-operation between men and women, out of shared interest in strengthening the stability of the household, now recognised (in place of the collective) as the prime economic unit in Vietnam.     

Elections and landmark policies in Tanzania and Uganda

Much of the relevant literature on Africa downplays the salience of elections for policy-making and implementation. Instead, the importance of factors such as clientelism, ethnicity, organized interest groups, and donor influence, is emphasized. We argue that, in addition, elections now motivate political elites to focus on policies they perceive to be able to gain votes. This is based on analyses of six landmark decisions made during the last 15 years in the social, productive, and public finance sectors in Tanzania and Uganda. Such policies share a number of key characteristics: they are clearly identifiable with the party in power; citizens are targeted countrywide; and policy implementation aims at immediate, visible results.     

The politics of war and debt relief in Uganda

This article analyses the politics behind Uganda's relations with its multilateral creditors, particularly the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in the context of the country's military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Ugandan officials exploit the anxieties of creditors, which want the country to be considered a successful case of debt relief and reform to justify similar policies in other states around the world. In reality, however, multilateral creditors help to sustain patronage politics that is increasingly based on access to plunder in a neighbouring state. Positive economic-growth figures and social indicators mask the underlying vulnerability of Ugandan state institutions, as the country's military officers pursue private interests. As a result, creditors face real dilemmas in deepening their support for the regime of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, which is increasingly reliant on its external backers. Creditors are indirectly subsidising a patronage-based political strategy and the war in the DRC. Alternatively, if they decide to abandon Uganda, they may have to accept a dramatic rise in internal instability.     

Including conflict-affected youth in agri-food chains: agribusiness in northern Uganda

Farming and agribusiness could help employ and reintegrate conflict-affected youth in regions recovering from civil conflict. This study addresses the constraints for youth to engage themselves in agribusiness in the worst conflict-affected regions of northern Uganda. Specifically, it explores to what extent beekeeping and honey business offer viable socio-economic opportunities to formerly displaced youth. Using a value chain approach, the study draws on in-depth interviews with 23 (young) key stakeholders in the honey value chain, document analysis and focus group discussions. The results suggest that apiculture business can create employment for conflict-affected youth in northern Uganda due to the relatively low entry barriers, a young enthused vanguard and higher returns per unit input compared to other agricultural sectors in the region. However in order to succeed, this group requires support from community elders, government and business facilitators, because, due to their age and war background, these youngsters face the common constraints to farming and agribusiness, but at higher degrees of severity.     

Organisational learning: A borrowed toolbox?

Learning organisations and their focus on fundamental change have been seen as having considerable potential for making organisations more gender equitable and improving their capacity to undertake development or human rights work that is not gender biased. This article, developed by the Gender at Work Collaborative, explores the usefulness of ideas related to learning organisations in changing institutions for gender equality. While this collection of ideas and practice are seen as helpful, a deconstruction of organisational learning points out some difficulties with this body of work and proposes an enhanced toolbox, which would pay attention to such factors as power relations, the spiritual basis of the work, and the gendered 'deep structure' of organisations.     

Self-settled Refugees in Uganda: An Alternative Approach to Displacement?

This paper investigates the complex security and economic dynamicsthat influence the lives and opportunities of self-settled refugeesliving in Uganda. It focuses on the opportunities and problemsfaced by self-settled refugees, and questions the assumptionthat Uganda's current local settlement policy is best suitedto the country's social, economic and political realities. Itsuggests that far from being passive victims, self-settled refugeesare taking control of their lives without any additional externalassistance and are planning for the day they can return to theirhomeland. Consequently, the paper argues that there is reasonto believe that local integration is likely to succeed whereother models have failed.     

War-child mothers in northern Uganda: the civil war forgotten legacy

The protracted LRA war in northern Uganda was characterised by the abduction and abuse of an unknown but significant number of girls and women. These girls were forced to carry guns and become wives to rebels, among other roles during captivity. Based on thirteen child mothers’ interviews and eight key informant interviews, the study found that the lives of formerly abducted mothers are tainted with stigma, rejection, and discrimination by in-laws, relatives, and the community, which leads to identity problems and limited possibilities for their integration. Child mothers’ return to school, small business engagement, and social involvement reduced their plight.     

A future disarmament,demobilisation and reintegration process in Sudan: lessons learned from Ethiopia,Mozambique and Uganda

The conflict that broke out in Sudan on the eve of its independence from Britain in 1956 has devastated the country, retarded developmental progress, drained human resources and damaged the social fabric of the entire nation. However, the Protocol of Machakos which was signed by the Government of the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army on 20 July 2002, states the commitment of the parties to a negotiated, peaceful and comprehensive resolution to the conflict within the unity of the country. With peace now in sight, the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants is essential to avoid the mistakes made in 1972. It is crucial to build a new future for the generations that have suffered so much in five decades of war. This paper examines the challenges that might confront DDR in post-conflict Sudan. It draws on past experience following the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement between the regime of President Gaffar Mohammed Nimeiri and the Anya-nya rebels, and on the experiences of countries that have gone through similar situations, such as Ethiopia, Mozambique and Uganda.     

Community involvement in constructing village health buildings in Uganda and Sierra Leone

Three public health projects in Uganda and Sierra Leone are used to illustrate a new approach to construction of health buildings in villages. Emphasis is placed on community involvement. The health projects were comprehensive and relied on health education, employment of local village health workers, and establishment of village health committees. The objective of community involvement was described as encouragement of people to change their own diets and living conditions. This approach to primary health care is considered to be a strong basis for sustainable social development. Each of the three communities initiated the building projects slightly differently. There was a range of structures: traditional meeting halls, simple rooms with imported materials and a pit latrine, new buildings combining local and imported materials and labor, new nontraditional buildings, rehabilitated existing nontraditional buildings with imported labor and materials, and temporary mobile clinics. Community involvement was at different levels. All three projects were the result of a combined effort of national governments or mission hospitals, nongovernmental organizations, and the host community. The following should be considered before beginning construction: a suitable site, appropriate staff accommodation, the likely motivation of the host community, seasonality, local materials available, availability of skilled labor, and design. A plan of work during construction should include a building design, site supervision, transportation of local and non-local materials, unskilled labor, and skilled labor. Village health committees with or without government help would be responsible for maintenance of buildings after construction. A key feature of this approach is the assessment of the community's ability and capacity to contribute.     

Disaster without memory: Oxfam's drought programme in Zambia

In Southern Africa, a major drought during 1992–93 threatened devastating consequences for poor rural populations in the region. The article describes the unconventional approach to disaster mitigation undertaken by Oxfam (UK and Ireland) in Zambia. This enabled people at the local level, with little prior organisational experience, to establish effective dialogue with government officials in the country; it also laid the foundations for longer-term development activities. The role of local-level lobbying, as well as campaigning on an international level, was crucial.     

Working with local NGOs: WaterAid's programme in Nepal

This article describes the evolution of WaterAid's programme of work in Nepal, based on the author's experiences while working as WaterAid's Representative Engineer in Nepal from 1987 to 1991. It examines how WaterAid's philosophy of working in partnership with local organisations was actually put into practice. Various problems and constraints are identified and discussed, and certain points are highlighted which may be of general interest to other external support agencies working in similar ways in other countries and sectors. The overall conclusion is that this programme represents a viable methodology for an international NGO to achieve useful results in supporting local NGOs working in development.     

A new way of measuring behavioural compliance for prevention programme interventions using KAP Score

KAP Score is an evaluation tool developed to enable aid and donor organisations to monitor and evaluate the outcome of interventions, particularly those where the link between programme activities and outcomes constitutes an “unknown”. This article articulates KAP Score and demonstrates how it has been applied to two separate interventions related to risk avoidance (human trafficking) and demand reduction (wildlife consumption) to generate quantitative evidence for assessing how they contributed to increasing compliance. The examples presented demonstrate how KAP Score attributed the effectiveness of these interventions to a proxy indicator that can measure incremental behavioural compliance.