This dissertation deals with the effects of COMESA and the EAC regional integration arrangements on the Ugandan economy with respect to trade creation and trade diversion, export diversification into non traditional exports and economic vulnerability, and economic growth and welfare. The continued focus on COMESA and THE EAC in recent years is because, firstly, there is neither clarity nor agreement on the particular benefits of the regional integration. Secondly, a significant amount of research has been done at a regional level but with less attention to specific country effects. Thirdly, limited research has been undertaken to determine the extent to which integration aid export diversification and an economy’s resilience, and the economic growth of an economy in general. This research explores these issues using the gravity theory and data from UN COMTRADE, UBOS, IMF, and World Economic Outlook for over the period 1981- 2010. Results reveal that THE EAC was trade creating and had more potential compared to COMESA which was trade diverting and with less trade potential. Results further show that not only was there diversification, but there was also reduced vulnerability, both with a positive effect on the growth of the economy. Study results further show a positive overall effect of COMESA and the EAC integration on growth and welfare on the Ugandan economy growth through higher GDP, although debt and trade, largely in deficit, were deterrent factors. Gross domestic investment and foreign direct investment had mixed effects on economic growth. The key recommendations from the study are that Uganda should put more emphasis on trade facilitation and trade infrastructure such as roads and railways to lower trade costs and boost trade in the long-run is addressed, and adding value on what Uganda produces and to diversify the economy by investing in various sectors including manufactures, to reduce the economy’s vulnerability to economic shocks. Additionally, Uganda needs to address the issues of high debt levels, trade imbalances and low domestic investments that are hampering her development efforts.

Introduction: The benefit of radiation in the diagnosis and therapeutic management of patients has been of enormous advantage in the treatment of diseases in the health sector. However, the production of scatter radiation by the equipment endangers the operating radiographers by exposing them to an undesired radiation dose. Thus the need for routine monitoring among the radiographers to ensure the dose limits is not exceeded. Aim: The aim of the study was to find out if the radiographers are monitored for their radiation doses in selected 5 hospitals around Kampala i.e. Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kawempe National Referral Hospital, Uganda Cancer Institute, Mengo Hospital and Kiruddu National Referral Hospital. Methodology: The study used a quantitative descriptive study design to collect data from the radiographers about radiation monitoring. Different study tools such as observation and semi structured self-completion questionnaires designed in line with the study were used. The data wasanalyzed using Microsoft excel 2010. Results: There was 100% response rate with 56.7% of the radiographers having thermoluminiscent dosimeters as personal monitoring devices though 40% of these did not actually wear their devices when at department. 50% of the respondents had their devices taken off for reading quarterly and 70% of this had their data from the dosimeters returned back on time. Half of the hospitals had a resident radiation safety officer,60% lacked radiation safety protocols and safety committees and 53.3% of the radiographers expressed satisfaction with the radiation safety protocols in their departments. Conclusion: The studygenerally noted that the personal radiation monitoring among radiographers in the selected hospitals in Kampala did not meet the international and national set guidelines by the Atomic energy council as per the council act of 2008. Laxity among the radiographers to adhere to the safety protocols, inadequate of coverage of radiation safety officers in facilities and infrequencies in collection and returning of the data from the concerned authorities were the notable causes of the inherencies. The concerned authorities should therefore train and retrain radiographers, train and assign for radiation safety officers and improve efficiency in assessment of the radiation safety devices.

The main objective of the study was to investigate the determinants of Private Sector Credit in Uganda. The study used Cointegration analysis applying the Johansen Procedure and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) approach for empirical analysis. The model involved private sector credit (LnPSC) as the dependent variable and the explanatory variables as Gross Domestic Product (lnGDP), Lending Rate (lnLR), Bank Credit to Government (LnBCG), Broad Money (LnBM), and Official Exchange Rate (OER). The period considered was 1980 to 2015. From the Cointegration analysis; Gross Domestic Product and lending Rate have a long run negative relationship with Private Sector Credit in Uganda. However, bank credits to government, broad money, and official exchange rate have appositive relationship with Private sector credit although OER is not significant. The short run results indicate that broad money has a positive and significant effect on private sector credit while GDP, LR, BCG and OER are not significant in the short run. Granger Causality Test shows the evidence of unidirectional causal relationship from GDP to private sector credit , same from PSC to broad money and bidirectional casuals relationship between lending rate and private sector credit which implies that GDP ,lending rate and broad money are key determinants of private sector . Therefore commercial banks should pay attention to the overall macro-economic situation of the country, factors that influence lending rate and their liquidity ratio while taking lending decision. Government should put in place policies that encourage and support access to credit. Also the issues of lending rate should not be left to be determined by the forces of demand and supply.

This study is motivated by the fact that Uganda has a high young age dependency ratio to the working population of above 85 %, which has to be matched by high savings and investment in the economy. However, Uganda’s low savings rate and low gross national income raises the fears that an increase in young age dependency increases the dependency burden in the country, which leads to slower economic growth and quality of life. This study sought to investigate the short run and long run effect of young age dependency on Gross National Income in Uganda from 1983-2020. The study followed a Solow growth model as a theoretical framework. The variables employed for this study were a mixture of I(0) and I(1) and as a result, the Autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL) estimation technique was adopted. The empirical results from the study suggests that young age dependence, life expectancy and gross fixed capital formation have a positive and significant effect on gross national income in Uganda in the long run. The empirical results further reveal that gross domestic savings had a negative and significant effect on gross national income in Uganda in the long run while openness to trade and foreign direct investment have a negative and positive insignificant effect respectively on gross national income in Uganda in the long run. The short run results from the ARDL estimation revealed that openness to trade had a positive and significant effect on gross national income in Uganda. Furthermore, young age dependency, life expectancy and gross fixed capital formation had a negative but statistically significant effect on gross national income in Uganda in the short run. Based on these findings, it is evident that Uganda’s high young age dependency needs to be reduced although it shows that it promotes economic growth in Uganda. This study therefore recommends that Uganda should adopt policies that will reduce the young age dependency ratios to manageable levels such as family planning to reduce the high population growth rate and encouraging immigration for younger people to reduce the dependency burden. The study further recommends that the government should invest in training and skilling the young people for the country to guarantee guided development of the country. The government should take invest in the health, education and entrepreneurial as backbone for the young people to be productive and enhance sustainable economic growth in Uganda.

Uganda’s current account balance has persisted on the deficit side since the early 2000s. Recent trends have shown that the size of this deficit has increased, making it a call for concern to policy makers. This study examines the applicability of the intertemporal approach to the current account balance in explaining the movements in Uganda’s current account. The study uses secondary annual time-series data from 1982 to 2019, obtained from of the World Development Indicators (WDI) database of the World Bank. The study commenced the analysis by performing Unit root test (including structural break unit root) to establish the order of integration of the study variables. Based on the order of integration of the study variables and the theoretical underpinnings, the study estimated a Vector Autoregressive model with a single lag. The unit root test results indicate that all variables are stationary at first difference and the current account balance was on an unsustainable path. Furthermore, the study also provides evidence that the intertemporal approach explained the movement in Uganda’s current account balance. The study therefore recommends applying the intertemporal approach when looking at the current account balance.

The study examines child soldiers/abductees and their criminal liability under International Criminal Law and the Rome Statute. The study looks at the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) as a case study for understanding the liability of child soldiers under the Rome Statute. The general objective of this study was to analyze the criminal liability of child soldiers or former child soldiers in particular those forcefully abducted and conscripted under the International Criminal Law, and justice mechanisms where the law is silent. In this respect, the study sought: to examine the case for criminal prosecution of child soldiers under International Criminal Law; to assess the dilemma of victim-perpetrator in the criminal prosecution of child soldiers under international law; and to examine the possibility of finding a balance between the rights of the child soldier to protection and the rights of the victim to justice. Data was collected through review of relevant documents in the libraries and the internet. A descriptive and qualification method of data analysis was used. The key findings of this study reveal that although International law provides for protection of rights of children during conflict and against conscription, it is silent on their criminal liability. There is overwhelming argument against the idea of blanket immunity of child soldiers under the guise of their involuntary participation and age, arguing for some form of culpability for the horrendous crimes committed during their military participation and find appropriate justice measures to deal with them, preferably restorative justice. The findings also acknowledge that in some ways, the common law criminal liability approach although deals with culpability, falls short of delivering the justice that war victims seek, that is; satisfying both punitive and reparative aspects of justice. The study therefore explored the restorative justice approach and the findings indicate that it is indeed the best alternative to the criminal prosecution, which only seeks to punish the perpetrator without offering any sort of reparation to the victims. Reparation/restorative justice in such complex cases, focuses on child rights protections by putting into consideration the age and method of conscription of these children, which is their abduction and forceful conscription in military combat. The study concluded that since conflict will always form part and parcel of our existence, the use of children will also continue to grow despite various international laws calling for their protection. We shall therefore see former child soldiers, in adulthood being brought before international and national court systems for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is seen by the precedent set by the trial of Dominic Ongwen. Prudence should thus be taken to find a permanent and standard procedure to deal with former child soldiers accused of horrendous crimes putting into consideration their victimperpetrator status vis-a vis justice for their victims. The recommendations include: i) amendment of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to set the minimum age for criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity at 15 years; ii) qualifying duress as a complete legal defense for child soldiers who were forcefully abducted; iii) provide a clear definition of the aspect of ‘most responsible’ to mean those who are truly in position to make enforceable directives during war; iv) consideration of the child soldiers’ victimization (the victim-perpetrator element) as a mitigating factor in sentencing; and v) use of the restorative justice approach as a mechanism for justice for both victims and perpetrators for long term peaceful resettlement and coexistence of the child perpetrators and their victims.

This study sought to explore social media as a source of health information for students at the Univeristy of Nairobi. The study objectives were: to determine the kind of health information the students searched for on social media, establish the perceived benefits and to identify the challenges faced by the students when using social media to obtain health information. The study sample included students aged between 18-34 years conveniently selected from the main campus. A nurse, a doctor and a student counsellor from the University Health Services were purposively selected as key informants. Uses and Gratification Theory, Technological determinism and Agency theory were used to explain the relationship between variables. Data was collected using survey questionnaires, FGDs and key informant interviews. Qualitative data was presented as per the emerging themes while quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and presented in percentages, frequencies and tables. The study established that many students used social media to obtain health-related information with Facebook and WhatsApp being the most widely used platforms. Students searched for health information on disease symptoms, health problems, insights into patients’ experiences and second opinions from fellow users of these platforms. Availability, accessibility, affordability, emotional support and less prejudice from fellow social media users were noted as the benefits of utilizing social media. Privacy issues, unreliability of health information gained and information overload were cited as the significant challenges encountered. In conclusion, as much as social media is a fast and more modern way for students to access health information, online sources should not replace diagnostically correct medical attention from certified health professionals. It is therefore recommended that advocacy, scholarly input and professional engagement into social media be done to make it a more relevant, credible, verifiable and trustworthy source of health information.

Traffic congestion significantly contributes to climate change due to the emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and Ozone (O3). Rapid urbanization and poor planning coupled with increased motorization and fragmented public transport system in cities such as Nairobi has led to increased vehicular emissions along the various roads and within the Central Business District (CBD). To reduce GHG emissions in the urban transport sector, institutional coordination and relevant policy tools must be considered. The aim of this study was to estimate CO2 emissions from different vehicle categories during congestion, using Uhuru Highway as a case study. The relationship between traffic congestion and CO2 emissions was analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods, through a bottom-up approach. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. Questionnaires were administered to get individual vehicle characteristics and opinions on the best actions for reduction of CO2 emissions along Uhuru Highway in Nairobi. The Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) for different vehicle categories from 2014 to 2019 formed the basis for estimation of CO2 emissions. Results showed that private cars predominate over other vehicle types, contributing 73% of the total CO2 emissions in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). Private cars are the highest contributors of CO2 emissions with a total of 25.3 million of Carbon dioxide equivalent (gCO2e), between 2014 and 2019. In comparison, Public Service Vehicles, commonly referred to as Matatus emitted 6.89 million gCO2e, Light Commercial Vehicles (1.82 million gCO2e), Heavy Goods Vehicles (251,683 gCO2e) and motorcycles (181,054 gCO2e). To minimize CO2 emissions, the study recommended enforcement of strong mobility policies to control the high motorization rate. One of these policies is the prioritization of the development of mass public transport system to achieve the potential health, economic and environmental gains within the CBD.

This study examined the relation between sustainable supply chain practices on the organization performance of pharmaceutical manufacturers. Academic inquiry on sustainable practices has gained prominence with increased examination on the efficacy and reliability of economic transition into sustainable frontier from the present depletive and destructive industrial activities that are destroying the planet risking the survival of future generations. This study looked into the role of triple bottom line sustainable platform notably; environmental, social and economic sustainability within the pharmaceutical supply chain. The study sought to determine whether, environmental sustainable, social sustainable and economic sustainable supply chain practices have an impact on the organizational performance of pharmaceutical manufacturers. The study employed descriptive survey methodology with the target population composed of pharmaceutical manufacturing firms in Nairobi. The study utilized census sampling technique, drawn by the fact that only 40 firms are fully certified in undertaking production and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Nairobi region. A structured questionnaire, with a 5-point scale, was utilized as the tool for data collection. The tool was designed with a leading set of questionnaire items covering the three sections of triple bottom sustainability approach which are; environmental, social and economic sustainability. For each of the 40 pharmaceutical companies, a participant was selected for study drawn from a senior management position. The study established that triple bottom line sustainability factors including environmental, social and economic sustainable supply chain practices impacted on the organization performance of pharmaceutical manufacturers. Environmental sustainable practices accounted for variability and change on organization performance (R2 = 0.301, β1 = 0.730) which is an incremental parallel outcome. Similarly, social sustainable supply chain practices were found to account for changes (R2 = 0.431, β2 = 0.948) in organization performance output. Finally, the economic sustainable practices were found to account for variability and changes (R2 = 0.711, β3 = 1.074) on the organizational performance. The study concludes that triple bottom line factors for sustainability notably, environmental sustainable supply chain practices, social sustainable supply chain practices and economic sustainable supply chain practices account for significant quantitative changes in organization performance for pharmaceutical producers. The study recommends for increased investments in high-tech infrastructure across the entire supply chain of pharmaceutical sector. Such technology should be tailored to offer sustainable operational solutions notably; eliminate exhaust pollution, ensure carbon emission control, integrated closed loop system and expanded compatibility to diverse clean energy sources. The study proposes for introduction of incentives through government policy to boost adoption of clean and renewable sources for energy. Additionally, the study recommends enhanced corporate efforts towards coal causes that uplift the society such as enlightenment of public hygiene, environmental conservation and expanded access to life-saving medicines.

Trade amongst the Africa countries has stayed low for a long period. The Africa Continental free trade agreement hence aimed at rectifying this. After being approved by all but one African Union (AU) member state, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) became the preferential trading area in the twenty-first century. Today the African Continental Free Trade Area has mostly concentrated around removing non-tariff obstacles. The research focused on the potential of the African continental free trade area in fostering free trade in Africa: a case study of Kenya. The research was based upon the following goals:; to Critically analyze the key policy challenges of attaining free trade in Africa, to assess and evaluate the key factors that may hinder AfCFTA in attaining free trade between Kenya and the rest of Africa, and to critically examine the impacts of AfCFTA in improving Kenya’s Trade. In achieving this the study was guided by international business theories of Comparative advantage and the Theory of the Second best. These theories are well-positioned to explain the phenomenon of Continental free trade area. The study used a descriptive-analytical research approach, using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The study's target group included 383 respondents from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development, AfCFTA specialists, academics, the business community, and the general public. The qualitative data was summarized and categorized according to the themes and presented thematically. Analysis of quantitative data was done through Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 21 to generate frequency distributions, percentages, and inferential statistics. The findings of the study on Key policy challenges of attaining free trade in Africa were that the low intra-African trade is due to a number of Policy challenges faced by the African continent. Non-Tariff Barriers, Rules of Origin and Regulatory Policies, Poor macroeconomic policies, and poor trade infrastructure were found out to be the main policy challenges to attaining free trade in Africa. The studys findings pointed out to a number of challenges that can hinder Kenya from gaining in the AfCFTA. factors like lack of a political will can also hinder Kenya from gaining from. Moreover, the conclusions of the research on the effect of AfCFTA are that it would increase Kenyan enterprises' competition at the industrial and firm levels by pooling output capacities, offering global access to markets, and enabling effective resource allocation across the continent.The study, therefore, recommends Customize and defining broader economic support for AfCFTA implementation and economic change, such as infrastructure support, digitalization, and national AfCFTA and trade facilitation committees. Kenya should look for additional COVID opportunities, such as in the pharmaceutical industry (and associated intellectual property assistance) and other regional value chains.