Since its introduction in 2007, several schools have benefited from government funds through USE. Private schools have generated mixed reactions for their decision to join the USE program. Trac FM in collaboration with ISER set out to figure out what the public really thinks by asking the following poll question: What is your impression of government-aided private schools that are implementing USE?
In 2007, the Government of Uganda implemented the Universal Secondary Education (USE) program. Schools receive capitation grants of UGX 47,000 per student per term from the government for teaching and learning purposes.
ISER and Trac FM are running an advocacy campaign that is part of the Common Matters program. We will collect citizens’ voices on financial accountability of PPPs in Uganda through interactive radio polling on 9 radio stations. The first poll question asked is about the decisions parents/guardians make in choosing a school for their children.
In our recent poll question, responses we received showed that provision of information and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases are most required by youth. Close to half of the responses (44%) said STD's needed the attention as compared to the other options.
Although the rates of teenage pregnancy have gone down in recent years, the national average stands at 25% of the girls aged 15 to 19 years is already a mother or pregnant with her first child.
In a traditional health facility setting, all patients access care according to specific health needs. However, this does not cater for the needs of adolescents and young people, especially when it comes to sexual and reproductive health.
There are different blood tests for Malaria. The outcome of the test determines whether someone has malaria or not and whether that person needs treatment. However, it is known that the result of a malaria test is not always believed by patients.
Malaria is still one of the major diseases affecting families all over Uganda. Testing a blood sample is the most conclusive way to know whether one has malaria or not. However, based on numbers from the Ministry of Health, only 60% of the people do tests for Malaria.
Although many diseases can be prevented these days, people are still affected by infectious diseases. Some diseases have a minor impact, others have a bigger impact on someone's life. This impact can be loss of a family member, frequent illness, illness of family members, or loss of work days due to illness.
Bride price is a highly cherished custom in Uganda. In some cultures or families, the bride price is optional. In others, it is mandatory.
Conjugal rights are important in marriage. For cultural and religious reasons, there is no place for negotiation, discussion or denial of conjugal rights/ sexual intercourse in marriage. However, spouses do acknowledge that there may be circumstances under which they would rather not consent to conjugal rights/ sexual intercourse. The reasons for denial can vary.
Efforts to change the controversial Marriage and Divorce Bill started in the 1960s. However, these efforts have faced scrutiny from religious and cultural leaders and individuals in parliament. Opponents of the bill fear that the law will change the values of marriage. Those in favour of the bill believe that it is an important tool for ensuring equal rights and will benefit all Ugandans equally.
The Africa Human Development Report 2016 released 3 months ago by the UN, the report warned that Uganda has to accelerate gender equality by empowering more women in all spheres of development if the country is to achieve the much desired middle-income status.
Youth unemployment is a big problem in Uganda, and different sources indicate that between 60% and 80% of the young population are unemployed. Many Ugandan secondary and university students are struggling to find a job after they graduate.
Image: wiki
On 21st May 2016, the government of Uganda passed the Tobacco Control Law that will fight and regulate the use of tobacco
Image: AFP
There are betting shops in almost every urban town across the country, laws relating to lottery and gambling have become obsolete and are not sensitive to the new modes of gambling and the unprecedented growth of the industry.
Annually, the average Ugandan consumes 23.7 liters of pure alcohol, with almost 90% of this being unregulated alcohol that is illegally sold, such as home-brewed Waragi.
The Ugandan water supply system has made substantial progress in the last 10 years. However, one-third of the population still lacks access to safe water.
The Uganda Police’s main duty is to maintain law and order, and work to make the Ugandan people feel safe. In recent times, the police force has been in the limelight for brutal treatment of the citizens and corruption.
Uganda has a for many years been hosting refugees from its neighboring countries. Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese, Congolese, Rwandese and recently also Burundian refugees, fleeing war, violence or persecution in their home countries, have all found shelter in Uganda. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Uganda is currently hosting more than 500 000 people, making it the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa after Kenya and Ethiopia.
The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of six countries in eastern Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Uganda. Having collapsed in 1977, it was revived on 7 July 2000. In 2010 EAC launched its own common market for goods, labor, and capital within the region, with the goal of creating a common currency and eventually a full political federation.
In Uganda, only 2% of the national budget is spent on Agriculture. However, agriculture is the backbone of the Ugandan economy and accounts for 23% of the GDP (GDP is the sum of all economic activity in Uganda). More than 70% of all Ugandans are working in agriculture, and the large majority of them are subsistence farmers that produce just enough to cater for their families.
The Ugandan Human Rights Commission has reported an “unprecedented rise” in mob justice cases in recent years
Since 2006, more than 42,000 Ugandans have gone to the Middle East through labor exporting agencies. Many cases of abuse against Ugandans have been reported.
More than 3000 Radio listeners across Uganda suggest.
Trac FM teams visits partner stations in Arua, Gulu, Lira and Soroti
See below a visual representation of the results of a poll about the security situation in Somalia from January 2015. This joint poll of 5 radio stations is part of Trac FM's
partnership with Free Press Unlimited.
A new Trac FM poll shows that 20% of Ugandans who tried to register to vote in 2016 were unable to. Another 15% didn't register because they had no intention of voting.
With the many international organizations working alongside each other in Somalia, it can be hard to tell who does what. This week, radio stations in Mogadishu, Hiraan, and Puntland asked their listeners if they know what the European Union actually is. 8.303 people sent us their answer.
Over the years, more and more Ugandan children are going to school. More and more girls are enrolling as well, and the introduction of the Universal Primary Education scheme in 2007 had given more children access to education than ever before. But there are still some who are being left behind.
In September 2014, a motorcycle rider and his passenger died as a result of being washed away by floods into an open draining channel. This, sadly, is not uncommon. During heavy rainfall, there is frequent flooding and risk of accidents as a result of Uganda's poor draining system.
Uganda's State Minister for Gender and Culture, Rukia Nakadama, has on public occasions lamented the high rate of gender based violence towards women. A recent poll run in Arua gives testament to her claims of the rise of this vice.
Multiple Journalism believes journalism of the digital age is not a threat to the independence and quality of professional journalism, but a liberation from corporate control.
Trac FM is proud
to have been selected as one of the case studies for the Multiple Journalism
initiative.
Members of parliament want the consent age in
Uganda to be increased to 21 yrs from 18 years. The MPs say that
teenagers over indulge in sexual activities and yet for some of the
girls their bodies are not yet fully developed to have a baby!
To many people in Uganda, radio is the first thing in the morning and last thing in the night. Radio has become a very important tool in our day-to-day life because its a source of news, entertainment and for many, radio enables them to participate in discussions. Radio is also a very portable tool and some people admit they love it because of this fact.
TRAC FM has joined dozens of development media organisations to call on the Open Working Group to fully integrate the governance
recommendations of the UN High Level Panel of Eminent Persons Report (A New Global Partnership:
Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development) into the proposed Post-
2015 Sustainable Development Goals
“Using results from a radio poll, we engaged school managements,
parents and other CSO to start a campaign for parents supporting feeding pupils
in schools. This campaign has been well received and so far 23 schools have
taken it for candidate classes of Primary Six and Seven” John Silco the
Director RICNET said.
TRAC FM teams up with Farm Radio International and HarvestPlus to raise awareness about the importance of consuming Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSPs) among Ugandans, by putting the power of interactive radio drama to work.
TRAC FM is very thankful for the awarded grant from The Indigo Trust, a trust which mainly focuses on innovation, transparency and citizen empowerment.
TRAC FM is honored to be selected for the Data Journalism Awards under the category "Data-driven applications, national/international".
PC Tech Magazine interviewed TRAC FM founder and director Wouter Dijkstra.
TRAC FM is delighted to partner with the UDN, the Uganda Debt Network.
Recently Trac FM partnered with Rwenzori Information Centers Network (RIC-NET) an indigenous Network of Information Centers situated in the Rwenzori region.
Radio Pacis is a new station in Gulu (Northern Uganda) and it will run a weekly talk-show where TRAC FM technology will be used to involve people in giving objective and data driven feedback to guests and to others who are tuned in.
This video shows how the TRAC FM platform is being used at one of our media partners: Community Radio Wa.
Last week we tested the first draft of the TRAC FM software with students from Makarere University Business School in Kampala.
