In Uganda, the mortality rate of children under the age of five is gravely high, and life-expectancy at birth particularly low. Poverty, lack of infrastructure and ill-suited personnel are barriers to the health of children. Viral maladies are very virulent and are rapidly transmitted on account of lack of hygiene and unhealthy living conditions. Cholera, for example, is one of the problems that gravely affect the health of Ugandan youths. The use of dirty water in many households leads to many children becoming infected by this particular disease which can turn out to be fatal. AIDS is equally prevalent throughout the country. In recent years, significant progress has been made regarding AIDS-prevention. Still, the virulence of this virus remains disconcerting. Too many children still become orphans as a result of AIDS, and their future remains very dark.
There are many working children in Uganda. Many of these working children are aged between 10-14 years. Some are in the 15 – 17 year age group. Some are less than 10 years old. Findings indicate that most of the working children have attended some formal education. Although this is the case, findings further indicate that still one in every five working children had no formal education. This implies that these children have very few options and are therefore prone to exploitation and poor conditions of work. Where do they work? Some of the working children work at their employer’s premises or “sites”, whereas some work in plantations, crop farming or doing unskilled manual labour. Many of the working children are engaged in domestic duties. Girls are more likely to engage in domestic work than boys. Cattle herder, Uganda, 2016.
Fishermen getting there nets ready in a small fishing village in the shores of Lake Edward, Uganda, 2016.
