Background: Heroin addiction is a universal encumbrance. Currently in Kenya, the estimate of heroin users is between 18,000 to 33,000. The use of heroin during pregnancy has been associated with high incidence of prematurity, low birth weight, higher number of neonates born experiencing Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and neonatal mortality. Globally, there has been marked improvement in the neonatal outcomes since the introduction of methadone as a gold standard treatment of heroin addiction. Objective: To determine the clinical outcomes of neonates born to mothers on Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) with methadone in Kenya. Utility: This is the first program evaluation of the newborn outcomes among babies of women on OST with methadone in Kenya and will form the basis for future program planning and improvement of the current case-management plans. Methodology: This was a retrospective cohort study. It was a countrywide multicenter study carried out at six of the largest Medication assisted treatment (MAT) clinics in Kenya. The study population was mothers on opioid substitution therapy (OST) with methadone and their neonates born in the period 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2019. Data collection: A predesigned stratified data collection tool was used in collecting relevant data in files of women who met the inclusion criteria. There was no sampling done due to the limited number of infants born in this programme. Data obtained from study population through data collection forms were checked for completeness and accuracy and entered into a password protected database. Data analysis: The data collected was entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, cleaned and transferred to STATA version 11.2 for analysis. Descriptive statistics of the study population were summarized as medians and ranges for continuous data and proportions.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the legal and institutional framework for air pollution control in Kampala. It was guided by the central research question of “how effective is the legal and institutional framework in combating air pollution in Kampala”. This study identified the sources of air pollution, its effects on human health and environment, challenges of controlling and managing air pollution. It further analysed the legal and institutional framework, mechanisms for controlling air pollution and their implementation as well as binding and non-binding international instruments on controlling air pollution.The studybasically adopted doctrinal method research approach. It reviewed available literature, national and international instruments. This was supplemented by selected interviews of officials in institutions involved in regulation of air pollution, NGOs as well as FGDs for members of the public. The studywas carried out in Kampala Capital City as a case study due to the very high prevalent rate of air pollution in this particular part of Uganda. It is the main findings of this study that there are various sources of air pollution which include motor vehicles, industrial activities, dust from unpaved roads.Air pollution has enormous effects on both human health and the environment for example respiratory diseases which greatly affect the young and the elderly. The study further found that there are fairly adequate laws and institutions in place mandated to control air pollution. However, they have not been largely effective due to a number of reasons but mainly lack of a specific legislation for air pollution control in Kampala,lack of implementation and gaps within the existing laws for example the 2019 National Environment Act maintains the framework approach from the old law, with few prescriptive provisions on environmental protection, leaving the details to be laid out in statutory instruments. The following recommendations were made; enactment of specific and comprehensive legislation on air quality (ordinance) for Kampala beyond the generic National Environment Act, 2019 and the draft National Air Quality Regulations, adequate implementation of the existing laws for example provisions on polluter pays principle, fines, fees, penalties and charges imposed for pollution as embedded in the National Environment Act, 2019. Specialized departments should be created under NEMA and KCCA as well as a specialized court for the sole purpose of addressing air pollution in Kampala City. There is need to domesticate the international instruments which Uganda has ratified.

Cerebral palsy is a common disorder among children with disabilities globally. The local burden is estimated to be 1 in every 300 children. Children with Gross Motor Classification System (GMFCS) III-V are usually immobile and are at high risk of developing low Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and low vitamin D levels. This leads to reduced bone strength and an increase in fracture risk. The life expectancy of children has improved due to advancements in medical care. It is therefore expected that there will be a rise in fracture incidence. There is scarce literature on bone quality in children with cerebral palsy in Kenya. Interventions such as timely supplementation of vitamin D has been found to reduce incidence of fractures. It is therefore important to have an updated baseline data on the level of Vitamin D and BMD in children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy in Kenya. Study Objective: To determine the bone mineral density and vitamin D status of children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy in Kenyatta National Hospital and St Theresa Mission Hospital. study design: descriptive cross-sectional study Study site: Kenyatta National Hospital and St Theresa Mission Hospital, Kiirua. Methodology: 70 patients met the criteria using convenience sampling. A standard questionnaire was used to enter the demographical data, GMFCS level and drug use. A venous non- fasting sample was drawn for analysis of Vitamin D and a calcaneal quantitative ultrasound used to assess bone mineral density. The interpretation of the bone mineral density findings was done according to the International Society of Clinical Densitometry in 2013 and Vitamin D according to the American Academy of paediatricians. Data processing: The collected data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25. RESULTS: Analysis of non- parametric data was done using spearman’s rank. The significant demographic variables was analysed using multiple logistic regression models. Data variables were presented in frequencies and analysed using the chi- squared test and Fischer’s exact test.

In Uganda, urban dwellers are faced with a constant burden of food shortages even when some of them carry out urban agriculture in order to sustain themselves and with a number of factors influencing the urban agriculture the people living in the urban areas are in turn affected. This study was conducted in Kawempe division, Kampala district with the key objective of assessing factors that influence urban agriculture. Specifically, the study examined the factors influencing urban agriculture and the study used the mixed methods approach with quantitative and qualitative methodologies with data having been collected from 185 respondents to obtain information on food access, food availability, food utilization and food sustainability. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, involving percentages and frequencies and inferential statistics- Mann Whitney U-test and also a logistic regression analysis. The logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors influencing urban agriculture among the urban population. The study reveals that a number of factors including gender, age, education, proximity to markets, experience and Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) policy on crop and animal husbandry influenced urban agriculture among the people. The policy recommendations include the government putting forward sustainable and favorable policies to enable urban agriculture (UA) among the urban populations and also agricultural extension services on UA should be facilitated to increase the farmers‘ knowledge and skills.

Education is a human right for all children, and those who are not in school are being denied that right. Failure to access education limits future opportunities for children. This study uses 2016/17 Uganda national household survey data to investigate the determinants of non-school attendance for children of aged 6-12 years. A logistic estimation was used for the analysis.

This study highlights the history of the child rights regime in relation to Uganda’s legal system and implementation framework,including the right to legal representation for children. Uganda has made tremendous steps towards domesticating international child justice standards by adopting child friendly laws. The Children Act Cap 59 amended in 2016 heralds the child friendly standards. Although the study found the existence of a fairly well-established legal system to guarantee the right of children in conflict with the law to legal representation, it is also clear that the right is often rarely observed due to inadequate implementation of the law, poor planning, corruption and competing priorities. The study also finds that the normative principle of the right to legal counsel has not alleviated the plight of children mainly because it is not a national priority to ensure that children are handled in a friendly manner.It is clear that many child justice standards remain on paper,resulting into immense abuse and violation of children’s rights witnessed by lengthy pretrial detention, the abuse of due process safeguards, astronomical orders and numerous irreparable damages to children in conflict with the law. The rights at stake include: the right of the child to be handled outside the formal justice system, the award of restorative as opposed to punitive orders, the right to bail, the right to be detained separately from adults and timely justice.The study particularly highlights the evidence of the justice system’s inadequate response to children in conflict with the law in the absence of reliable legal services through a review of the sentencing pattern of children in conflict with the law. In the year 2013, 98% of sentences for petty offences ranged between two to three. This is tilted towards the higher side designated for capital offences contrary to the threshold set in the Children Act. The study notes the existence of a robust and progressive legal framework at the international, regional and national levels in relation to the rights of the child. In essence the study speaks to the existence of a gap between the law and practice.Moving forward, the study provides strategies, proposals and recommendations aimed at the more complete realization of the right to legal representation.The need for strengthening procedural laws in relation to juvenile offenders is highly recommended in order to guarantee the right to legal counsel, consistent application of the normative standards, intensify the awareness of the right to legal representation, use of alternatives to detentions including diversion, intensive 13 training of justice stakeholders and increased funding of the child justice component.Ultimately,addressing system weaknesses using the system-wide perspective is essential.

Under the program sustainable energy development, the National Planning Authority aims at increasing access and consumption of clean energy within five years from 2020. This is expected to lead to sustainable growth, and poverty reduction, as well as the social and cultural transformation of society. However, the country is faced with slow progress in terms of sustainable economic growth due to low access to different forms of renewable energy like electricity, low investment, and supply shocks due to COVID-19 among other factors. This study examines the asymmetric effects of renewable energy consumption on economic growth in Uganda using a Nonlinear Autoregressive Distribution Lag framework for data obtained from the World Development Indicators. The study findings reveal that an increase in renewable energy consumption in the short- and long-run is favorable for economic growth while a decrease in renewable energy consumption has a negative association with economic growth in the long run. Furthermore, the study finds that capital has a positive effect on economic growth while labor hurts economic growth in the short run. To achieve high and sustainable rates of growth, the study recommends the exploitation of renewable energy (solar power, wind power, bioenergy (organic matter burned as a fuel), and hydroelectric, among others. In addition, the government should allocate more resources towards boosting local investors, forming synergies to curb the situation of unemployment as well, and encouraging more people to join the money economy in Uganda.

The study investigated the impact of taxation on economic growth in Uganda using Quarterly time series data for the period 1998-2018. The researcher specifically sought to investigate the impact of direct and indirect taxes on economic growth in Uganda. The study used Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) to examine the relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) used as a proxy for growth and the independent variables (Indirect taxes, Direct taxes, Public sector credit and Inflation). The study based its theoretical frame work on the endogenous growth model. The empirical findings show a long run relationship among the variables. The Vector Error Correction coefficient of (-0.04) showed that about 4 percent of the errors will be corrected in the long run leading to a convergence. And finally, the ordinary least square results revealed that direct domestic taxes have a positive impact on economic growth but the value for indirect taxes was insignificant as it failed the statistical tests at all conventional levels of significance (1%, 5% and 10%). It was recommended that government should strive to widen the tax base by majorly exploiting direct taxes as well as maintaining a mild inflation to spur economic growth in Uganda.

Inspite of the substantial progress made in terms of improving the efficiency, competitiveness and stability of Uganda’s financial system, a concern still remains in terms of the high numbers of NPLs (Non-Performing Loans) in banks’ balance sheets. In recent years especially 2011 to 2012, there has been an increase in NPLs, causing significant losses for banks and at the same time constraining the scope of bank credit to borrowers, moreover the main goal of every banking institution is to operate profitably in order to maintain stability and sustainable growth. This study was conducted to identify the determinants of NPLs in Uganda’s Banking sector using time series data for the period 1980 to 2012. The main objective of the study was to establish whether macroeconomic factors (real GDP growth rate, interest rate) and bank specific factors (Return on Asset, Credit growth and the Loan Loss Reserve rate) contribute to the occurrence of NPLs in Uganda’s banking sector. This study adopted the Error Correction Model and the estimated results indicated that all study variables were significant. In particular, NPLs increase with increase in the real interest rate, credit growth and Loan Loss Reserve rate, while they decline with increase in real GDP growth rate and return on asset. The study recommended the need for appropriate macroeconomic policies so as to achieve macroeconomic stability. In particular, the monetary policy should aim at that CBR rate that can enable commercial banks set moderate interest rates to their customers, control government borrowing that crowds out private lending as a result of high interest rates and use of prudential banking policies such as setting high bank capital adequacy ratios, which reduce the adverse impact of macro problems on banks. The study also recommended improving efficiency of bank management and making use of the Credit Reference Bureau.