Because of poverty, more than four million Ugandans, representing 11.8 per cent of the population can’t afford two meals a day, according to the 2014 National Population and Housing Census.
For instance, more than four million people, according to the report, consume one meal a day. Of these 11.9 per cent are in rural areas and 11.4 per cent in towns.
At least 51.4 per cent (about 18 million) of Uganda can afford two meals yet only 34.6 per cent can afford three meals a day.
The report, which was launched last week also shows that nearly 18 million people use kerosene lamps also known as tadooba for lighting, something which exposes them to lung cancer.
The World Bank estimates that inhaling kerosene fumes is the equivalent of smoking two packets of cigarettes a day and two-thirds of adult females with lung cancer in developing nations like Uganda are non-smokers but suffer air pollution.
Although the 2014 National Population and Housing Census shows that the percentage of Ugandans using tadooba has slightly reduced from 74.8 per cent (more than 18.2 million people) cent in 2002 to 52 per cent (more than 17.9 million), because of poverty, kerosene lamps are still widely used for lighting in rural and urban areas where distribution of electricity is either unavailable, or too costly.
At least 60 per cent of the total population in rural areas used tadooba compared to 25 per cent in urban areas.
However, those using electricity have increased from 7.8 per cent in 2002 to 20 per cent in 2014. In rural areas, the number has increased from 3 per cent to 10 per cent over the same period.
There are 27.2 million people living in villages and only 7.4 million living in towns.
Although the 2014 census data paints a rosy picture of the economy, it also reveals the extent of poverty in the country.
The data provides insights into the changes which have taken place since 2002 and highlights black spots in the service delivery chain where government needs to focus attention in the next five years.
The population has increased from 24.4 million in 2002 to 34.6 million in 2014.
The Daily Monitor
UM– USEKE.RW
