The silent majority – Child poverty in Uganda

Most Ugandans living below the poverty threshold are children. Despite this, their perspective has not, until now, been incorporated in the many poverty analyses which have been carried out.The aim of this report is to contribute to the Uganda Poverty Participatory Assessment Project (UPPAP) objective of “broadening and deepening the understanding of poverty and poverty trends”, based on a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the scope, scale and implications of child poverty in Uganda.
The report also reveals how children have a broad and rich understanding of the nature and causes of poverty. They also appear to place more emphasis on personal and family factors. However the report also concludes that, despite progress in reducing consumption poverty over the past decade, there are sizeable and growing groups of children that are being left behind and for whom there is no effective provision or protection. Children in Uganda have a valuable contribution to make to the poverty debate. They are eager to be involved and suggest ways that they and others can address child poverty.