In the  final  year  of  the  Millennium  Development Goal (MDG) era, this  report assesses the  results of Uganda’s efforts in pursuit of the Goals over the last 15 years. The country’s experience implementing the MDGs is reflected upon  to draw  lessons for the  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and a way forward is proposed to integrate Uganda’s  unfinished  MDG business into  the   national post-2015 development agenda.

Uganda’s  overall  MDG results are  impressive,  although progress has   not   been uniform   across all  the   goals. Excluding  the  goals  that  are  the  responsibility of  the whole   global  community,1   and  those with  insufficient evidence to make  an assessment,2  Uganda  is expected to  achieve  six  targets;  significant progress  has  been made towards a further three, although the  targets may be  reached slightly  after  the  deadline; and  four  targets have  not been achieved.

Uganda’s  most   important success  is  under MDG 1- income poverty- which was  reduced by two  thirds, surpassing the  50% reduction specified by Target 1A. Households with  higher  income levels  are  better able  to  meet the direct   and  indirect costs   of  accessing education  and healthcare,  so  this  progress has  contributed to  many of  the   other  goals.  Uganda’s  poverty  reduction  was driven   by  broad-based  economic growth, enabled by strong macroeconomic management, public  investment in infrastructure such  as feeder roads and  rural electrification, regional integration and trade, and rapid urban growth. Nonetheless, Government continues  to implement various measures to support the  6.7 million Ugandans who are  still in poverty, and  the  further 14.7 million who remain vulnerable.

Another important achievement has been in controlling the  spread of malaria  – the  leading cause of under-five mortality. The malaria  prevalence rate  among  children fell by more  than  50% in just  five years  between 2009 and  2014, mainly  due  to the  large-scale dissemination of  insecticide-treated  bed   nets.  The  burden of  other diseases such as measles and tuberculosis has also been reduced significantly. These achievements have helped to halve  Uganda’s child mortality rate, representing significant progress although the  ambitious MDG target is likely to be missed narrowly.

Government’s investment in rural water  supply has brought  significant progress  –  the   share of  the   rural population using   an  improved drinking   water   source increased from  52% in  2001/2 to  72% in  2012/13. Access to safe  water  is much  higher  in urban areas but there  has   been  limited   improvement  over   the   MDG period, with  the  rapid  growth  of  Uganda’s towns   and cities  often overwhelming urban planning capacity. Improving awareness and  changing sanitation practices. among  the  population also  remains a major  challenge, and is particularly important given that  sanitation tends to have  a larger  impact  on health outcomes than  access to safe  water  alone.

The unfinished MDG business is not understood simply as  the  targets Uganda  has  missed, but  the  underlying constraints that  must  be  addressed to  accelerate and sustain progress – in particular the  effectiveness of Government  service  delivery. Download the Report to find out more..