Title: The effectiveness of official development assistance in the health sector in Africa: A case study of Uganda

Abstract

This qualitative explanatory case study assessed the influence of Official Development Assistance on selected health development indicators in Uganda between 2005 and 2013 by reviewing development partners’ perceptions. Key health indicators included: (a) under five- year-old mortality rates, (b) infant mortality rates, and (c) maternal mortality ratio. Results indicated slow progress in reducing infant mortality and under-five mortality rates, and almost no progress in the maternal mortality ratio despite the disbursement of a yearly average of nearly $400 million USD in the last 7 years to the health sector in Uganda. Five bottlenecks in the influence of development assistance on health indicators were identified: (a) poor governance and accountability in health care system in Uganda, (b) ineffective supply chain of health commodities, (c) negative cultural beliefs, (d) insufficient government funding to health care, (e) insufficient alignment of development assistance to the National Development Plan, and non-compliance with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

Biography

Dr Cyriaque Sobtafo is currently serving with the United Nations as Senior International Development Experts. He has over 25 years of experiences assisting developing countries in their efforts toward achieving sustainable developments. Dr Sobtafo has served in various parts of the world, including Africa, North America, Europe, the Balkans and Oceania, working both in development and humanitarian contexts. He hold a PhD of Management from the School of Advanced Studies at the University of Phoenix (US), a Dynamic Leadership certificate from Harvard Business School (US), a Master’s degree in food technology from ENSAI of the University of Ngaoundere (Cameroon), and various certifications in development discourse from various universities.

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