Around the world, childhood is being reprogrammed by digital technologies but children and young people are not experimental subjects, a captive market, or a commodity COMMENT | EMMANUEL MACRON AND TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS | From social media and online gaming to generative AI systems, digital environments are powerful determinants of …
Read More »DNA test shows Kadongo Kamu legend Paul Job Kafeero had only 4 children
Kampala, Uganda | URN | Police forensic and government DNA tests have confirmed that only four out of 25 individuals who claimed to be children of the late Kadongo Kamu legend Paul Job Kafeero are biologically related to the musician. The results were released on Thursday by Police Forensic Director …
Read More »It is $1.8 billion a year; That’s what we’re losing by failing young people
These losses span direct health system costs, out-of-pocket expenses for young people and their families, and lost opportunities in earnings, productivity and future potential COMMENT | ANNE GITHUKU-SHONGWE | This year’s International Day of the African Child, I ask us to consider her. She was fifteen years old, …
Read More »Every child’s future begins with water
COMMENT | JEREMIAH NYAGAH | Before a child can learn, dream, play or thrive, there is something far more basic they need: water. Not tomorrow. Not when funding becomes available. Not when another development plan is approved. Today. Yet for millions of children across Africa, access to safe water, sanitation …
Read More »Uganda struggles to close gaps in blood supply as maternal deaths persist
According to the World Health Organization, the ratio now stands at 189 deaths per 100,000 live births, a significant improvement from earlier figures Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | As Uganda marked World Blood Donor Day on June 14, health officials turned attention from donor recruitment drives to …
Read More »WHO: Children under five face highest risk from unsafe food
Kampala, Uganda | URN | Children aged less than five years face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food than older children and adults, according to new estimates released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite being just 9% of the global population, young children suffer from …
Read More »Why teenage pregnancy persists in Uganda and what must change
Kampala, Uganda | NEWS CORRESPONDENT | Anne Alan Sizomu, Programs Specialist at UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Uganda has indicated that teenage pregnancy in the country is driven by a shifting and complex mix of vulnerabilities that vary across regions, rather than a single cause. “While early marriage was once …
Read More »Xi encourages Chinese children to strive for better future
BEIJING | Xinhua | Chinese President Xi Jinping often interacts with children on International Children’s Day, extending warm greetings to children across the country. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, recently replied in a letter to …
Read More »Police exhume Paulo Kafeero’s body to settle children parentage battles
Kampala, Uganda | URN | Heavy security personnel were deployed across Busansula village on Monday as police oversaw the exhumation of the remains of legendary Ugandan musician Paulo Kafeero, in a bid to resolve long-running disputes over parentage among his children. The exercise, which has drawn significant public attention, follows …
Read More »Fear grips Namalu as street children turn to crime and drug abuse
Nakapiripirit, Uganda | URN | Residents of Namalu Trading Centre in Nakapiripirit District say an influx of street children is fueling crime, drug abuse, and insecurity, with locals feeling powerless to intervene. The children, mostly boys aged 14 to 18, are said to have abandoned their homes to live on …
Read More »
The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price