Opposition activists want the government’s record on schools and healthcare to be central in the 2026 election campaign
New research exposing systematic government failures across health, education, and infrastructure reveals why Uganda ranks 157th out of 193 countries in the UN’s Human Development Index in 2024-25, with stark spending disparities favouring politicians over essential services as President Yoweri Museveni prepares to seek a seventh term in January 2026. The figures, based on an analysis of Auditor-General reports, show Parliament budgeting 20 billion Ugandan shillings (US$5.6 million) for regional sittings in 2020/21 – more than double the USh8bn allocated to the entire education sector in Abim District, which has a population of 143,000. Opposition activists hope these revelations will shift pre-election debate from human rights repression towards the government’s disastrous development record, particularly its failure to deliver basic services to the 70% of Ugandans living in rural areas. They also want to persuade voters and opposition parties that the country’s disastrous health and education outcomes – among the worst in the world – can be reversed.
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