THE CORONA VIRUS SCARE IN THE VATICAN

Pope Francis tested negative for the Coronavirus, this came after the Holy Father had to skip the Ash Wednesday mass because of a cold he has been battling.

Pope Francis coughed as he led mass on Sunday
(VaticanMedia)

These fears arise because Italy is the most affected country outside China with over 2000 people having been infected by the deadly virus. At the time of writing, Italy was the first country in Europe to go on lockdown with all of its occupants being told to isolate themselves for a minimum of a month. Italy has now been joined by France, Germany and U.S.A in adopting the social distancing policy.

2020 SET FOR MORE TAXES

The Ministry of Finance of Uganda released the 2020/2021 budget framework in December 2019 and it indicated that the amount of money from external donors will reduce and the general budget will be cut from shs 40.48 Trillion to shs 39.64 Trillion, upon release, the Minister of Planning, David Bahati explained that because of reduced external support, the public will have to cope with increased taxation to finance the budget.

Ugandans in urban centers may have to deal with increased commodity prices to cope with the rise in taxation intended to fund this year's national budget.

SUPPRESSION OF OPPOSITION

Ugandan opposition leaders like Kizza Besigye and Robert Kyagulanyi are being strangled out of view with charges like sedition and treason being placed on them anytime they air views that contrast those of the ruling government.

 Besigye visits Kyagulanyi in Rubaga Hospital after he was beaten up by alledged Government operatives in early 2019
Photo;ObserverUg

ETHIOPIA'S AMBITIOUS AFFORESTATION PROJECT.

Ever since Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed came into office, he has spearhead great projects and in 2019, he kicked off a massive afforestation plan which brought together 23 million people in the African country as 353,633,600 trees were planted according to the Technology Minister, Gutahun Mekuria.

Ethiopians take part in the national tree planting day on 28th July, 2019 in the capital,Addis Ababa
Photograph: Micheal Tuwelde

LOCUSTS PUT MILLIONS AT RISK OF STARVATION

The UN declared the recent infestations of locusts in Africa as the "worst" in a quarter of a century and this is no hyperbole as this swarm of locusts carries the potential of destroying food that can feed 35,000 people in one day which is now putting over 25 Million people at the risk of starvation in 15 countries.

A UPDF soldier sprays a plantation infested with locusts in Moroto,Uganda

SYRIA REFUGEE CRISIS

With over half of the pre-war population either displaced or dead. An estimated 22 Million Syrians have had an awful life ever since the war begun. With now over 12 Million of them displaced, many of them have gone to neighboring Lebanon, Iran and over 3 Million have moved to Turkey where they have flooded the urban cities and created culture tensions which has led to many racist attacks on the Syrian refugees.

A group of Syrian refugees storm the beaches of Turkey as they flee tensions in Damascus,Syrian

UGANDA SHOWS AFRICA THE WAY

Many would say that Uganda has led the way in Africa when it comes to combating the issue of Climate Change, this point of view is further backed by the endeavors the state and many concerned climate activists have taken in this global fight. 

A Climate Change activist in one of the slums of Kampala, Uganda

Uganda was the first country in Africa to develop and endorse its Nationally Determined Contribution Partnership Plan (NDC-PP) in June 2018. It made key commitments in this regard, including, reducing national greenhouse gas emissions by 22% by 2030, reducing climate vulnerability of climate sensitive sectors since the economy is natural resource based, and building climate resilience of key sectors and managing disaster risks. 
This sounds like a step in the right direction for the East African country but like most of the developing world, Uganda is openly feeling the adverse effects of climate change. 

A young girl in Kasese fetches water from one the rivers that burst it banks recently. 

In October 2019, residents of Kasese were hit with floods that killed one person and displaced more than 7000 people, Uganda is combating one of the highest rates of annual forest cover loss (2.6%) in the world and despite various calls for state assistance that eventually arrives in moderation or not at all, Uganda and specifically, people living in and around Mbale have suffered from the landslides that is as a result of their encroaching on the mountain sides for agriculture. We have also felt the effects of prolonged drought in the country with five of the hottest years in modern human history coming in the past decade.

The streets of Kampala battle floods all the time because of the poor drainage system. 

This may taint a sad and horrific future for future generations but as said before, Uganda can hold its head high when discourse about climate change combat is put forth, Uganda has been the beneficiary of a lot of funds that the state is putting to work. In Lira, they have kicked off a tree planting project with the aim of restoring all the lost forest cover, in Kasese which also happens to be the most at the frontline of renewable energy use in Uganda has seen a increase in use of clean energy from 3% in 2012 to 28.9% in 2018. 

Uganda has also received various donations and grants to help facilitate the fight with The Lake Victoria Management Project implemented by the Ministry of Water and Environment being funded by a $90 million International Development Association credit. In 2016, the World Bank approved $2million for the Uganda Clean Cooking Supply Project which advocates for clean energy in households. 
Uganda has from 2016 been backed by over $250Million from the World Bank which has been used in many projects ranging from research into more environmentally friendly Agriculture to technological innovations.

All these efforts maybe just a drop in the ocean in this global struggle but as a country, Uganda has shown the World that we need to act now and as former US President, Barack Obama once said, “Climate Change is no longer some far away problem; it is happening here, it is happening now!”
BY CASSIOUS DAVID KISAKYE