Integration of population into government and business strategies: application to the Ugandan Context

Frederick Mugisha, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

Uganda is among the few countries that have managed to anticipate and respond to changes in size, settlements patterns and age structure in its people’s development aspirations in government and business. All districts have a provision for a population officer and more than ¾ of districts have filled the position. The debate has become more concrete in government, business and general public. Unlike several countries, Uganda has a population policy and its implementation plan. Political, structural, and organizational maneuvers that have made it possible to achieve such results are explored; including synergetic partnerships among institutions that generate data, those use data to provide evidence, those that use evidence for advocacy, those train, those that legislate, those that develop strategies and plans, and those that mobilize technical and financial support. The next stage is to ensure actual expenditure on population responsive actions at national, sector and sub-national levels.