Kampala
  21/11/07
 
UGANDA HAS IMPROVED LIFE EXPECTANCY FROM 43 AND NOW LIVE UPTO 50 YEARS SAYS A REPORT.

By Leo Odera Omolo

Uganda is only one of two African countries that have made the greatest gains in improving life expectancy in the last 10 years, a new World Bank report has shown.

According to the African Development Indicators (ADI) 2007 that was released here last week, the life expectancy of Ugandans has now climbed by seven years to 50, up from just 43 in 2001.

With Tanzania behind at 46.3 and Kenya at 49.0 Uganda is now the only country above the 50 mark in the great Lakes Region, and therefore the best country for those who want to live a bit longer.

Ugandan mothers also have a better chance to survive during pregnancy with a maternal mortality ratio of 880: 100,000 and Kenya’s 1,000 – 100,000.

But the situation is not as good as for children under five with a mortality rate of 136: 1,000 live birth compared to Kenya’s 120: 1,000 and Tanzania 122: 1,000.

Generally, the report says because of HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases, improvement in life expectancy have stalled in some countries and retreated in a few others.

Uganda is also largely lagging behind in adult literacy rates with only 57 per cent of females able to read and write compared to Tanzania’s 62.2 per cent and Kenya’s 70 per cent.

The World Bank report says poor health and poor schooling hold back improvements in people’s productivity and the chances of meeting one-millennium development goals (MDGS)

Malaria is still a big concern in the region with 152/100,000 Ugandans dying of the disease compared to Kenya’s 63/100,000 and Tanzania’s 130/100,000 people.

But the report is generally positive about growth prospects for Africa where about 41 per cent of the people still live on less than USD 1 (Ushs 1,7000 a day.

On the continent, Uganda is listed as second among the countries with the largest proportion of people living in the rural areas (87.4 per cent) next to Burundi (90 per cent).

The reports say after years of stop-and-start results, many African economies’’ appear to be growing at the fast and steady rates needed to put a dent in the region’s high poverty rate and attract global investment.’’

This growth has been mainly attributed to good policies and governance, which the report says ‘’matter a great deal’’

Miss Omagal Ezekwesili, the World Bank Vice President for Africa region said over the past 10 years Africa has recorded an average growth rate 54 per cent ‘’which put Africa at par with the rest of the world but that the ability to support, sustain, and diversify the sources of these growth indicators would be criticized not only to Africa’s capacity to meet the MDGS but also to becoming an exciting investment destination for global capital.’’

The report says Africa now enjoys better growth prospects because the leaders have undertaken major reforms over the past decade.

But it decries the negligible role the private sector has played in improving Africa’s investment climate, spurring innovation, and building institutional capacity to govern well.

Ends.
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com