Anthony Mugeere | Makerere University (original) (raw)

Papers by Anthony Mugeere

BMC Public Health

Background Drowning is a serious worldwide and preventable injury problem, especially in low- and... more Background Drowning is a serious worldwide and preventable injury problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this paper is to draw on the results of semi-structured interviews with witnesses, family members and friends of persons involved in fatal and nonfatal drowning incidents to describe the circumstances of drowning in both lakeside and non-lakeside districts and to identify potential contextually appropriate interventions for drowning prevention and surveillance in Uganda. Methods The findings presented in this study were based on data collected from study participants selected through purposive sampling comprising 324 individual face-to-face interviews with drowning witnesses, family members, friends of and survivors of drowning and ten (10) focus group discussions held with community members in 14 districts in Uganda. Data analysis was done using the Framework Analysis Approach with the aid of the Microsoft Atlas ti software (version 8) progra...

Climate disruptions are having devastating impacts on human lives and livelihoods, and demand urg... more Climate disruptions are having devastating impacts on human lives and livelihoods, and demand urgent and concerted responses. This requires cooperation of local, national and global stakeholders and people from all generations and walks of life. Failure will mean that the young people of today and the generations to follow will face increasingly severe climate disruptions likely to impact every facet of their lives.

Accessible Technology and the Developing World, 2021

The implementation of non-user-centered design is sometimes effective for traditionally mass-prod... more The implementation of non-user-centered design is sometimes effective for traditionally mass-produced items; however, these methods do not take into account local needs, resources, and cultures, and the history of individual people and communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This neglect leads to “specialized” solutions based on a non-representative portion of high-income users, rather than the larger population of potential users, and results in devices that are alienated from the target community. In consequence, the resulting products do not work properly, nor do they have the intended impact. As an example, even if they do work at first, the implementation and maintenance effort and costs are usually so high that they rapidly fall into disuse. This chapter highlights examples of innovative practices of assistive technology based on users’ priorities, which are culturally appropriate and sustainable. The chapter also reviews the shortfalls of well-intentioned “sol...

European Heart Journal, 2020

Journal of Disability & Religion, 2019

Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three... more Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three African countries Background Religion and spirituality are some of the central philosophies in coping with disability (Claasens, Shaikh, Swartz 2018). Spirituality is a broader term and may be viewed as an umbrella concept under which one finds religion; the latter is concerned with public participation in a faith community with specific practices and doctrines (Walker, 1992). Phillips (2003) as cited by Marin & Glover-Graf (2011) perhaps best describes this difference in defining religion as "an extrinsic organized faith system grounded in institutional standards, practices, and core beliefs, while spirituality is intrinsic personal beliefs and practices that can be experienced within or without necessarily belonging to a religious affiliation". Both religion and spirituality have varying influences on the lives and experiences of individuals living with disabilities. These phenomena not only provide the basis for creating meaning in their lives but also offer the much needed platform for reflecting on the 'what would have been' if they weren't living with their disabling condition. Whether or not, the individual is religious, the interrogation of the way spirituality informs conceptions of disability is in most cases inevitable. Overall, spiritual beliefs greatly influence perceptions of people with disabilities, of themselves, others, and the world (Dellassoudas, 2000). Although, Africans are widely considered to be among some of the most highly religious and spiritual individuals in the world, the extent to which these two concepts influence their perceptions of life remain a matter of debate. The situation is compounded by the multiplicity of religious beliefs and practices found across the wide range of societies on the continent. Conceptualisations of the ancestors play an important role in structuring religious experience and social life-so much so that African kin groups are sometimes described as communities of both the living and the dead (Woodhead, 2002). The discourses of religion and Africa is complex, as scholars explore the effect of colonialism, universalism, secularization or even the multiplicity of faiths on African spirituality. Religious thinking influences how non-disabled people respond to persons with disabilities. For example, in the context of Nigeria, Etieyibo and Omiegbe (2016) argue that African Traditional Religion influences some of these attitudes and behaviours more than orthodox Christianity and Islam do. They cite violence and murder directed towards people with albinism and the consequent use of body parts in rituals; communal violence against people with mental illness; as well as the recourse to begging by disabled children and adults. Education and counselling can

Journal of Disability & Religion, 2019

Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three... more Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three African countries Background Religion and spirituality are some of the central philosophies in coping with disability (Claasens, Shaikh, Swartz 2018). Spirituality is a broader term and may be viewed as an umbrella concept under which one finds religion; the latter is concerned with public participation in a faith community with specific practices and doctrines (Walker, 1992). Phillips (2003) as cited by Marin & Glover-Graf (2011) perhaps best describes this difference in defining religion as "an extrinsic organized faith system grounded in institutional standards, practices, and core beliefs, while spirituality is intrinsic personal beliefs and practices that can be experienced within or without necessarily belonging to a religious affiliation". Both religion and spirituality have varying influences on the lives and experiences of individuals living with disabilities. These phenomena not only provide the basis for creating meaning in their lives but also offer the much needed platform for reflecting on the 'what would have been' if they weren't living with their disabling condition. Whether or not, the individual is religious, the interrogation of the way spirituality informs conceptions of disability is in most cases inevitable. Overall, spiritual beliefs greatly influence perceptions of people with disabilities, of themselves, others, and the world (Dellassoudas, 2000). Although, Africans are widely considered to be among some of the most highly religious and spiritual individuals in the world, the extent to which these two concepts influence their perceptions of life remain a matter of debate. The situation is compounded by the multiplicity of religious beliefs and practices found across the wide range of societies on the continent. Conceptualisations of the ancestors play an important role in structuring religious experience and social life-so much so that African kin groups are sometimes described as communities of both the living and the dead (Woodhead, 2002). The discourses of religion and Africa is complex, as scholars explore the effect of colonialism, universalism, secularization or even the multiplicity of faiths on African spirituality. Religious thinking influences how non-disabled people respond to persons with disabilities. For example, in the context of Nigeria, Etieyibo and Omiegbe (2016) argue that African Traditional Religion influences some of these attitudes and behaviours more than orthodox Christianity and Islam do. They cite violence and murder directed towards people with albinism and the consequent use of body parts in rituals; communal violence against people with mental illness; as well as the recourse to begging by disabled children and adults. Education and counselling can

African Journal of Disability, 2019

Background: Whereas most narratives of disability in sub-Saharan Africa stress barriers and exclu... more Background: Whereas most narratives of disability in sub-Saharan Africa stress barriers and exclusion, Africans with disabilities appear to show resilience and some appear to achieve success. In order to promote inclusion in development efforts, there is a need to challenge narratives of failure.Objectives: To gather life histories of people with disabilities in three sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone) who have achieved economic success in their lives and to analyse factors that explain how this success has been achieved.Methods: Qualitative research study of economic success involving life history interviews with 105 participants with disabilities from both urban and rural settings recruited through disabled people’s organisations and non-governmental organisation partners, framework analysis of transcripts to chart success and success factors.Results: Participants had faced barriers in education, employment and family life. They had largely surmounted t...

African Journal of Disability, 2015

Often located far apart from each other, deaf and hearing impaired persons face a multiplicity of... more Often located far apart from each other, deaf and hearing impaired persons face a multiplicity of challenges that evolve around isolation, neglect and the deprivation of essential social services that affect their welfare and survival. Although it is evident that the number of persons born with or acquire hearing impairments in later stages of their lives is increasing in many developing countries, there is limited research on this population. The main objective of this article is to explore the identities and experiences of living as a person who is deaf in Uganda. Using data from semi-structured interviews with 42 deaf persons (aged 19–41) and three focus group discussions, the study findings show that beneath the more pragmatic identities documented in the United States and European discourses there is a matrix of ambiguous, often competing and manifold forms in Uganda that are not necessarily based on the deaf and deaf constructions. The results further show that the country’s c...

Abstracts, 2021

Results Out of the 342 children from the rural area and 325 children from the urban area, 89 and ... more Results Out of the 342 children from the rural area and 325 children from the urban area, 89 and 56 children were injured respectively in the last one year. The injuries resulted in a temporary impairment of 12.4% and 1.8% of children in rural and urban area respectively. Similarly, 11.2% of them in rural and 1.8% in the urban area suffered from some form of permanent disability. The children also missed their school ranging from 1 to 90 days due to injury. In 22.2% of injury cases in rural and 14.3% in the urban area, either of the parents had lost their workdays to take care of the injured child. Conclusion The impacts of unintentional injuries were higher in rural areas, probably because of delays in seeking health care for the injury and lack of better health care facilities in the rural area. Learning Outcomes There is a need of contextual and cost effective childhood injury prevention program to reduce premature mortality and morbidity (SDG 3.4).

This project on multiliteracies involved groups of deaf learners in India, Uganda, and Ghana, bot... more This project on multiliteracies involved groups of deaf learners in India, Uganda, and Ghana, both in primary schools and with young adult learners. The Peer-to-Peer Deaf Multiliteracies project examined how some of the dynamics that contribute to learners' marginalisation can be changed by involving deaf individuals in the design of new teaching approaches, and by using children and young people's lived experiences and existing multilingual-multimodal skills as the starting point for theme-based learning. The aim was for participants to develop not only English literacy, but "multiliteracies", i.e. skills in sign languages, ICT, written English, creative expression through drawing and acting, and other forms of multimodal communication. The data collection includes reports from classroom settings compiled by tutors and by research assistants, pre-and post-tests on language and literacy abilities with learners, samples from an online learning platform, and multimed...

Why young people and climate change? Key climate change-related livelihood challenges for young p... more Why young people and climate change? Key climate change-related livelihood challenges for young people Young people's input Conclusion and recommendations

African Journal of Disability, Apr 25, 2019

Background In understanding the experience of disability in Africa, particularly in terms of pove... more Background In understanding the experience of disability in Africa, particularly in terms of poverty and livelihoods, there appears to be a paradox. Disabled Africans face structural factors such as barriers in the environment, in education and in employment, as well as widespread discriminatory attitudes, that limit their chances of achieving success on an equal basis with others (Banda-Chalwe, Nitz & De Jonge 2013; Groce et al. 2011; WHO 2011). For example, Eide and Ingstad (2013) summarise the findings of the 2002-2013 series of seven SINTEF surveys on disability in Africa: Key indicators on education, mental and physical health, employment, socioeconomic status, access to information, social participation, et cetera all point in the same direction: there are substantial gaps in services to disabled people, disability is associated with a lower level of living when compared to nondisabled persons, women with disabilities are worse off than males, and the rural disabled have a lower level of living than their urban counterparts. (p. 2) The SINTEF data are confirmed by other studies across the African continent (Trani & Loeb 2012; Trani et al. 2010). International data confirm that this situation is general for people with disabilities in low-and middle-income settings. From Filmer (2008), it is evident that adults with disabilities are more likely to live in poorer households. Mitra, Posarac and Vick (2011) analyse multidimensional poverty among people with disabilities in low-and middle-income countries. Persons with disabilities are disproportionately unemployed or economically inactive. A detailed study of access barriers for people with mobility impairment in Zambia shows some of the reasons why people with disabilities are so often excluded from education, employment, transport and other social goods (Banda-Chalwe et al. 2013). Similarly, there are barriers to participation for deaf people, as was found in Uganda (Mugeere et al. 2015). As a consequence of this exclusion from public life, and the worlds of education and employment, at first glance prevailing cultural representations of disability in Africa appear overwhelmingly Background: Whereas most narratives of disability in sub-Saharan Africa stress barriers and exclusion, Africans with disabilities appear to show resilience and some appear to achieve success. In order to promote inclusion in development efforts, there is a need to challenge narratives of failure. Objectives: To gather life histories of people with disabilities in three sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone) who have achieved economic success in their lives and to analyse factors that explain how this success has been achieved. Methods: Qualitative research study of economic success involving life history interviews with 105 participants with disabilities from both urban and rural settings recruited through disabled people's organisations and non-governmental organisation partners, framework analysis of transcripts to chart success and success factors. Results: Participants had faced barriers in education, employment and family life. They had largely surmounted these barriers to achieve success on an equal basis with others. They were working in private and public sectors and were self-employed farmers, shopkeepers and craftspeople. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that, given the right support, disabled people can achieve economic success, with the implication being that investment in education or training of disabled people can be productive and should be part of overall development efforts for economic reasons, not solely to achieve social justice goals.

The Journal of Environment & Development

The disruptions of anthropogenic climate change are increasingly severe. People living in sub-Sah... more The disruptions of anthropogenic climate change are increasingly severe. People living in sub-Saharan Africa are especially exposed to these risks, and amongst them young people. It is well established that climate disruptions have the potential to halt education, displace populations, and wreck infrastructure. This rigorous literature review focuses on climate change in the landlocked East African country of Uganda, demographically the world’s third youngest country, where young people struggle to get by due to insufficient work opportunities. Extended to other countries in the Eastern and Central African region, the review considers what is known about the intersection of youth livelihoods and climate change; young people’s susceptibility to climate disruption due to limited resources and livelihood options; and the constraints around their responses. The review findings suggest the need for substantial youth informed interventions to bolster young people’s economic resilience and...

The African Review

Whereas there is ample empirical evidence on the nature and functioning of formal and informal so... more Whereas there is ample empirical evidence on the nature and functioning of formal and informal social protection systems in Uganda, there are limited studies on their influence on the youth living with disabilities. This paper explores the meaning and functioning of social protection strategies among youth living with spina bifida and hydrocephalous in central Uganda. Using data from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informants, the paper observes that there is widespread knowledge on social protection systems among the respondents. Overall, social protection encompasses all measures implemented to address the perceived social exclusion and vulnerabilities related to the disability condition. The paper recommends a philosophical twist to the implementation of social protection by interrogating the human development model of disability which places the elements of the health conditions, impairments and their causes and consequences on the wellbeing of these vulnera...

BMC Public Health

Background Drowning is a serious worldwide and preventable injury problem, especially in low- and... more Background Drowning is a serious worldwide and preventable injury problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this paper is to draw on the results of semi-structured interviews with witnesses, family members and friends of persons involved in fatal and nonfatal drowning incidents to describe the circumstances of drowning in both lakeside and non-lakeside districts and to identify potential contextually appropriate interventions for drowning prevention and surveillance in Uganda. Methods The findings presented in this study were based on data collected from study participants selected through purposive sampling comprising 324 individual face-to-face interviews with drowning witnesses, family members, friends of and survivors of drowning and ten (10) focus group discussions held with community members in 14 districts in Uganda. Data analysis was done using the Framework Analysis Approach with the aid of the Microsoft Atlas ti software (version 8) progra...

Climate disruptions are having devastating impacts on human lives and livelihoods, and demand urg... more Climate disruptions are having devastating impacts on human lives and livelihoods, and demand urgent and concerted responses. This requires cooperation of local, national and global stakeholders and people from all generations and walks of life. Failure will mean that the young people of today and the generations to follow will face increasingly severe climate disruptions likely to impact every facet of their lives.

Accessible Technology and the Developing World, 2021

The implementation of non-user-centered design is sometimes effective for traditionally mass-prod... more The implementation of non-user-centered design is sometimes effective for traditionally mass-produced items; however, these methods do not take into account local needs, resources, and cultures, and the history of individual people and communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This neglect leads to “specialized” solutions based on a non-representative portion of high-income users, rather than the larger population of potential users, and results in devices that are alienated from the target community. In consequence, the resulting products do not work properly, nor do they have the intended impact. As an example, even if they do work at first, the implementation and maintenance effort and costs are usually so high that they rapidly fall into disuse. This chapter highlights examples of innovative practices of assistive technology based on users’ priorities, which are culturally appropriate and sustainable. The chapter also reviews the shortfalls of well-intentioned “sol...

European Heart Journal, 2020

Journal of Disability & Religion, 2019

Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three... more Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three African countries Background Religion and spirituality are some of the central philosophies in coping with disability (Claasens, Shaikh, Swartz 2018). Spirituality is a broader term and may be viewed as an umbrella concept under which one finds religion; the latter is concerned with public participation in a faith community with specific practices and doctrines (Walker, 1992). Phillips (2003) as cited by Marin & Glover-Graf (2011) perhaps best describes this difference in defining religion as "an extrinsic organized faith system grounded in institutional standards, practices, and core beliefs, while spirituality is intrinsic personal beliefs and practices that can be experienced within or without necessarily belonging to a religious affiliation". Both religion and spirituality have varying influences on the lives and experiences of individuals living with disabilities. These phenomena not only provide the basis for creating meaning in their lives but also offer the much needed platform for reflecting on the 'what would have been' if they weren't living with their disabling condition. Whether or not, the individual is religious, the interrogation of the way spirituality informs conceptions of disability is in most cases inevitable. Overall, spiritual beliefs greatly influence perceptions of people with disabilities, of themselves, others, and the world (Dellassoudas, 2000). Although, Africans are widely considered to be among some of the most highly religious and spiritual individuals in the world, the extent to which these two concepts influence their perceptions of life remain a matter of debate. The situation is compounded by the multiplicity of religious beliefs and practices found across the wide range of societies on the continent. Conceptualisations of the ancestors play an important role in structuring religious experience and social life-so much so that African kin groups are sometimes described as communities of both the living and the dead (Woodhead, 2002). The discourses of religion and Africa is complex, as scholars explore the effect of colonialism, universalism, secularization or even the multiplicity of faiths on African spirituality. Religious thinking influences how non-disabled people respond to persons with disabilities. For example, in the context of Nigeria, Etieyibo and Omiegbe (2016) argue that African Traditional Religion influences some of these attitudes and behaviours more than orthodox Christianity and Islam do. They cite violence and murder directed towards people with albinism and the consequent use of body parts in rituals; communal violence against people with mental illness; as well as the recourse to begging by disabled children and adults. Education and counselling can

Journal of Disability & Religion, 2019

Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three... more Oh God! Why did you let me have this disability?': religion, spirituality and disability in three African countries Background Religion and spirituality are some of the central philosophies in coping with disability (Claasens, Shaikh, Swartz 2018). Spirituality is a broader term and may be viewed as an umbrella concept under which one finds religion; the latter is concerned with public participation in a faith community with specific practices and doctrines (Walker, 1992). Phillips (2003) as cited by Marin & Glover-Graf (2011) perhaps best describes this difference in defining religion as "an extrinsic organized faith system grounded in institutional standards, practices, and core beliefs, while spirituality is intrinsic personal beliefs and practices that can be experienced within or without necessarily belonging to a religious affiliation". Both religion and spirituality have varying influences on the lives and experiences of individuals living with disabilities. These phenomena not only provide the basis for creating meaning in their lives but also offer the much needed platform for reflecting on the 'what would have been' if they weren't living with their disabling condition. Whether or not, the individual is religious, the interrogation of the way spirituality informs conceptions of disability is in most cases inevitable. Overall, spiritual beliefs greatly influence perceptions of people with disabilities, of themselves, others, and the world (Dellassoudas, 2000). Although, Africans are widely considered to be among some of the most highly religious and spiritual individuals in the world, the extent to which these two concepts influence their perceptions of life remain a matter of debate. The situation is compounded by the multiplicity of religious beliefs and practices found across the wide range of societies on the continent. Conceptualisations of the ancestors play an important role in structuring religious experience and social life-so much so that African kin groups are sometimes described as communities of both the living and the dead (Woodhead, 2002). The discourses of religion and Africa is complex, as scholars explore the effect of colonialism, universalism, secularization or even the multiplicity of faiths on African spirituality. Religious thinking influences how non-disabled people respond to persons with disabilities. For example, in the context of Nigeria, Etieyibo and Omiegbe (2016) argue that African Traditional Religion influences some of these attitudes and behaviours more than orthodox Christianity and Islam do. They cite violence and murder directed towards people with albinism and the consequent use of body parts in rituals; communal violence against people with mental illness; as well as the recourse to begging by disabled children and adults. Education and counselling can

African Journal of Disability, 2019

Background: Whereas most narratives of disability in sub-Saharan Africa stress barriers and exclu... more Background: Whereas most narratives of disability in sub-Saharan Africa stress barriers and exclusion, Africans with disabilities appear to show resilience and some appear to achieve success. In order to promote inclusion in development efforts, there is a need to challenge narratives of failure.Objectives: To gather life histories of people with disabilities in three sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone) who have achieved economic success in their lives and to analyse factors that explain how this success has been achieved.Methods: Qualitative research study of economic success involving life history interviews with 105 participants with disabilities from both urban and rural settings recruited through disabled people’s organisations and non-governmental organisation partners, framework analysis of transcripts to chart success and success factors.Results: Participants had faced barriers in education, employment and family life. They had largely surmounted t...

African Journal of Disability, 2015

Often located far apart from each other, deaf and hearing impaired persons face a multiplicity of... more Often located far apart from each other, deaf and hearing impaired persons face a multiplicity of challenges that evolve around isolation, neglect and the deprivation of essential social services that affect their welfare and survival. Although it is evident that the number of persons born with or acquire hearing impairments in later stages of their lives is increasing in many developing countries, there is limited research on this population. The main objective of this article is to explore the identities and experiences of living as a person who is deaf in Uganda. Using data from semi-structured interviews with 42 deaf persons (aged 19–41) and three focus group discussions, the study findings show that beneath the more pragmatic identities documented in the United States and European discourses there is a matrix of ambiguous, often competing and manifold forms in Uganda that are not necessarily based on the deaf and deaf constructions. The results further show that the country’s c...

Abstracts, 2021

Results Out of the 342 children from the rural area and 325 children from the urban area, 89 and ... more Results Out of the 342 children from the rural area and 325 children from the urban area, 89 and 56 children were injured respectively in the last one year. The injuries resulted in a temporary impairment of 12.4% and 1.8% of children in rural and urban area respectively. Similarly, 11.2% of them in rural and 1.8% in the urban area suffered from some form of permanent disability. The children also missed their school ranging from 1 to 90 days due to injury. In 22.2% of injury cases in rural and 14.3% in the urban area, either of the parents had lost their workdays to take care of the injured child. Conclusion The impacts of unintentional injuries were higher in rural areas, probably because of delays in seeking health care for the injury and lack of better health care facilities in the rural area. Learning Outcomes There is a need of contextual and cost effective childhood injury prevention program to reduce premature mortality and morbidity (SDG 3.4).

This project on multiliteracies involved groups of deaf learners in India, Uganda, and Ghana, bot... more This project on multiliteracies involved groups of deaf learners in India, Uganda, and Ghana, both in primary schools and with young adult learners. The Peer-to-Peer Deaf Multiliteracies project examined how some of the dynamics that contribute to learners' marginalisation can be changed by involving deaf individuals in the design of new teaching approaches, and by using children and young people's lived experiences and existing multilingual-multimodal skills as the starting point for theme-based learning. The aim was for participants to develop not only English literacy, but "multiliteracies", i.e. skills in sign languages, ICT, written English, creative expression through drawing and acting, and other forms of multimodal communication. The data collection includes reports from classroom settings compiled by tutors and by research assistants, pre-and post-tests on language and literacy abilities with learners, samples from an online learning platform, and multimed...

Why young people and climate change? Key climate change-related livelihood challenges for young p... more Why young people and climate change? Key climate change-related livelihood challenges for young people Young people's input Conclusion and recommendations

African Journal of Disability, Apr 25, 2019

Background In understanding the experience of disability in Africa, particularly in terms of pove... more Background In understanding the experience of disability in Africa, particularly in terms of poverty and livelihoods, there appears to be a paradox. Disabled Africans face structural factors such as barriers in the environment, in education and in employment, as well as widespread discriminatory attitudes, that limit their chances of achieving success on an equal basis with others (Banda-Chalwe, Nitz & De Jonge 2013; Groce et al. 2011; WHO 2011). For example, Eide and Ingstad (2013) summarise the findings of the 2002-2013 series of seven SINTEF surveys on disability in Africa: Key indicators on education, mental and physical health, employment, socioeconomic status, access to information, social participation, et cetera all point in the same direction: there are substantial gaps in services to disabled people, disability is associated with a lower level of living when compared to nondisabled persons, women with disabilities are worse off than males, and the rural disabled have a lower level of living than their urban counterparts. (p. 2) The SINTEF data are confirmed by other studies across the African continent (Trani & Loeb 2012; Trani et al. 2010). International data confirm that this situation is general for people with disabilities in low-and middle-income settings. From Filmer (2008), it is evident that adults with disabilities are more likely to live in poorer households. Mitra, Posarac and Vick (2011) analyse multidimensional poverty among people with disabilities in low-and middle-income countries. Persons with disabilities are disproportionately unemployed or economically inactive. A detailed study of access barriers for people with mobility impairment in Zambia shows some of the reasons why people with disabilities are so often excluded from education, employment, transport and other social goods (Banda-Chalwe et al. 2013). Similarly, there are barriers to participation for deaf people, as was found in Uganda (Mugeere et al. 2015). As a consequence of this exclusion from public life, and the worlds of education and employment, at first glance prevailing cultural representations of disability in Africa appear overwhelmingly Background: Whereas most narratives of disability in sub-Saharan Africa stress barriers and exclusion, Africans with disabilities appear to show resilience and some appear to achieve success. In order to promote inclusion in development efforts, there is a need to challenge narratives of failure. Objectives: To gather life histories of people with disabilities in three sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone) who have achieved economic success in their lives and to analyse factors that explain how this success has been achieved. Methods: Qualitative research study of economic success involving life history interviews with 105 participants with disabilities from both urban and rural settings recruited through disabled people's organisations and non-governmental organisation partners, framework analysis of transcripts to chart success and success factors. Results: Participants had faced barriers in education, employment and family life. They had largely surmounted these barriers to achieve success on an equal basis with others. They were working in private and public sectors and were self-employed farmers, shopkeepers and craftspeople. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that, given the right support, disabled people can achieve economic success, with the implication being that investment in education or training of disabled people can be productive and should be part of overall development efforts for economic reasons, not solely to achieve social justice goals.

The Journal of Environment & Development

The disruptions of anthropogenic climate change are increasingly severe. People living in sub-Sah... more The disruptions of anthropogenic climate change are increasingly severe. People living in sub-Saharan Africa are especially exposed to these risks, and amongst them young people. It is well established that climate disruptions have the potential to halt education, displace populations, and wreck infrastructure. This rigorous literature review focuses on climate change in the landlocked East African country of Uganda, demographically the world’s third youngest country, where young people struggle to get by due to insufficient work opportunities. Extended to other countries in the Eastern and Central African region, the review considers what is known about the intersection of youth livelihoods and climate change; young people’s susceptibility to climate disruption due to limited resources and livelihood options; and the constraints around their responses. The review findings suggest the need for substantial youth informed interventions to bolster young people’s economic resilience and...

The African Review

Whereas there is ample empirical evidence on the nature and functioning of formal and informal so... more Whereas there is ample empirical evidence on the nature and functioning of formal and informal social protection systems in Uganda, there are limited studies on their influence on the youth living with disabilities. This paper explores the meaning and functioning of social protection strategies among youth living with spina bifida and hydrocephalous in central Uganda. Using data from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informants, the paper observes that there is widespread knowledge on social protection systems among the respondents. Overall, social protection encompasses all measures implemented to address the perceived social exclusion and vulnerabilities related to the disability condition. The paper recommends a philosophical twist to the implementation of social protection by interrogating the human development model of disability which places the elements of the health conditions, impairments and their causes and consequences on the wellbeing of these vulnera...