By Kasirye Ibrahim In one day, Nigeria’s GDP increased by 89% and leap frogged South Africa to become the continent’s largest economy. The Nigerian economy is now officially valued at 80.3trillion Naira   (US$ 510 billion) and the country has become 24 th largest economy in the world. The Nigerian government announced the re-valuation of the country gross domestic product (GDP) figures on April 7 th 2014. Based on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Uganda’s GDP in 2013 was US$ 23 billion and this placed the country at 102 position in the global rankings. This revaluation means that the Nigerian economy is now more than 22 times larger than the Ugandan economy.   Although changes in the GDP base may directly increase other metrics used to capture income status such as GDP per capita, actual welfare status may not change much given the very large informal and non-monetary economy that is characteristic of African countries. Indeed, recent statistics show that the ...

By Ibrahim Kasirye Malaria as a leading killer disease in Uganda ahead of HIV/ AIDS. Uganda face over 10 million malaria cases annually and about 100,000 Ugandans lose their lives due to contracting malaria most of whom are children. It is responsible for 40% of all outpatients and 25% of all hospital admissions in health facilities. During the World Malaria Day celebration last week, the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda Hon Rebecca Kadaga was quoted saying “ Mosquito nets are a waste of money ”. Although one may share the Speaker’s frustration that malaria remains a menace in Uganda whereas other tropical countries e.g. Cuba have managed to eliminate the malaria parasite, it is also worth appreciating the dilemma faced by public health officials and the environment within which they operate. At an estimated expenditure of US$ 150 million for 21 million   long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) every 3 years (or about US$ 50 million per year), Uganda’s expenditure...