In Adjumani district of northern Uganda young people cannot access safe and reliable sexual and reproductive health care. Young people are sexually active and unwanted pregnancy is a common problem. Services must be tailored for young people and health professionals have to be more welcoming and understanding of their needs. Myths and stigma around sexual behavior and prevention should be tackled in an integrated approach.

The World Starts With Me is a web-based/CD-ROM curriculum on information technology (IT) and sexual and reproductive health and rights for young people in Uganda. It is a sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention project that simultaneously gives Ugandan youth the opportunity to acquire Internet and computer skills.

Legislation on marital rape and equality in the family could save the lives of countless women and girls, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the speaker of Uganda's Parliament. The Domestic Relations Bill, which has languished in parliament for more than a decade, would afford women and girls greater equality in matters relating to marriage, divorce and family property. It would also make marital rape illegal. Scheduled for debate in May, it was delayed once again after President Yoweri Museveni said the bill was "not urgently needed," and after members of parliament asked for more time for consultation. Debate is now anticipated in June.

Brain drain is hitting Uganda hard as it is estimated that 35 percent of Uganda's graduates live in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The ILO programme officer for Africa region, Mr David NII Addy, said this on May 26 at Hotel Africana in a regional meeting on Labour Migration for International Development in East Africa. "According to recent data of OECD, Uganda has over 35 percent of its graduates living in an OECD country. Comparable data for Tanzania is slightly higher while that of Kenya also stands at about 35 percent," he said.

Rich nations must stop threatening to withhold aid as a way to dictate policies to Africans, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Wednesday. Donors who fund about half Uganda's budget have threatened cuts over delays in the east African country's return to multi-party politics, and a plan to remove presidential term limits that critics say is aimed at keeping Museveni in power. But such attitudes are immoral, paternalistic and partly to blame for the economic stagnation of much of the continent, Museveni told an African investment conference staged by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

This paper examines the social, economic and political situation of urban refugees in Kampala. In Uganda, refugees are expected to become self-reliant, and refugees who live in refugee settlements are given initial assistance to help them achieve this objective. In contrast, refugees in Kampala must attempt to access overstretched and underfunded city services.

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI or the Institute) is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

More than 98 percent of children in five districts in Uganda reported experiencing physical or emotional violence in a study conducted by Save the Children Uganda. 75.8 percent reported experiencing sexual violence, and 74.4 percent reported experiencing economic violence. "For each form of violence, a significant percentage of children reported experiencing the violence at least once a week or more," the report said.

In a Ugandan camp run by the United Nations refugee agency, southern Sudanese women and girls acknowledge that their access to free education has caused them to delay rushing back home, even though a peace accord went into effect in the region in January. Refugees outside the country often list education above peace and security as their main requirements for ending their exile and coming home, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says.

A new World Bank Group (WBG) study cites Uganda as a leader in Sub-Saharan Africa in addressing critical linkages between economic growth and gender issues. But it suggests Uganda can grow faster by unleashing the economic power of women through speeding up the current process of removing barriers to business. The Director for Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Lawrence Kiiza, said, "Gender is often considered a soft social issue, but we know it has important economic consequences too. The government has made a lot of progress in improving women's participation in the political process and we are trying to ensure women have the opportunity to fully participate economically too."

A World Bank-commissioned study has recommended aid cuts to Uganda over the next three years, warning that recent political developments have jeopardised the country’s development agenda. The study found that, “Museveni’s bid for a third term has split the Movement…raised the prospect for political violence…and significantly increased the impetus for corruption as the campaigns to change the constitution and reelect the President will require large sums of money.”

Uganda's external debt increased over the last ten years from $3 billion in 1994 to $4.5 billion in 2004. According to a document from Uganda Debt Network (UDN) released on Monday, the indebtedness affects Uganda's development and expenditure for essential services. "The odious debt is hampering our rate of development and expenditure on essential services for poverty-reducing sectors such as primary education, primary health care, water and sanitation, agricultural extension and rural roads," the document says.

The Domestic Relations Bill (DRB) has again been shelved amidst protests from several MPs, mostly women activists. Constitutional affairs state minister Adolf Mwesige sought to have the Bill withheld as it was due for the second reading in Parliament. Deputy Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, however, ruled that the Bill be brought back to Parliament for the 2nd reading on June 16. Mwesige said following protests from different important sections of society like the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council and the Uganda Joint Christian Council, the Government had mandated the Law Reform Commission to consult further on the issue before it could be debated in parliament.

The Ugandan government must prosecute perpetrators of torture, said Human Rights Watch and the Ugandan-based Foundation for Human Rights Initiative this week. Last week during its session in Geneva, the United Nations Committee Against Torture reviewed Uganda's initial report. In its report, the Ugandan government explained measures it has taken against torture to comply with its obligations under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. On Friday this week, the U.N. committee is scheduled to publish its conclusions and recommendations to Uganda.

At least 5,000 people in southern Sudan have fled food shortages and attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and sought refuge in northwestern Uganda since January, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. "[Some] said they were running away from LRA attacks, while the majority have fled their camp of Nimule in southern Sudan to Arua in Uganda due to food shortages, as relief supplies to the camp stopped some time back," spokeswoman Roberta Russo said.

The Minister of Education, Ms Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to provide additional funding to Makerere University to save it from imminent closure. Makerere has become broke and has no money to run the university this and next month.

The United Nations top emergency official has told the BBC that there is an historic opportunity to end the 19-year war in northern Uganda. Emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland says northern Uganda is being forgotten by the rest of the world. But speaking ahead of a UN Security Council briefing, he said recent peace contacts must not be squandered.

The police force ranks highest in corruption and bribery among service providers in Uganda, a new national survey has shown. The National Service Delivery Survey (NSDS) says all institutions in the country asked for bribes. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) conducted the survey in the 56 districts of the country to assess availability, utilisation and satisfaction of service users as a guide for policy makers, implementers and monitors at all levels of governance.

Although the Group of 7’s promise this year to make Africa its pet cause looks good on paper - cutting debt, increasing aid and alleviating suffering from disease - the issue of foreign aid is stirring intense debate in at least one country. Uganda is already wrestling with the sheer volume of foreign money pouring in to fund programs such as those combating AIDS and other diseases - and the subsequent negative impact on its currency, the private sector and future economic growth. Read this analysis from World Press Review by visiting their website.

Uganda has turned down a request by the Rwandan government to deny asylum to thousands of Rwanda nationals who have been fleeing their country to Uganda and Burundi over the past six weeks. The Burundi government has also said it would not repatriate them, although it will not grant them refugee status.