Government Must adopt a new approach to measuring Youth in Poverty in Uganda
The Government of Uganda has continued to rely on household surveys to determine who is living in poverty amongst the youth but this also continue to perpetuate the bias against youth. Household surveys usually focus on easily enumerated households identified by a dwelling and a family. As you well know in our Banana Republic Uganda, Young people are likely to be underrepresented in such settings if they have left the parental home and are in precarious circumstances, which often includes residence in temporary lodgings, slums or even being without any accommodation at all.
Collecting data on young people who are poor using the dynamic perspective on poverty is a more complex task than applying the methodology required for recording poverty from a static perspective. It involves obtaining details about income generated over time for particular age groups, the subjective perceptions of those affected, and the significance of the findings. While there are reports that poverty amongst the youth is declining, I category disagree to this belief and informed conception, poverty levels amongst the youth is galloping and if strategic interventions are not adopted the most productive generation will be a waste, the next generation of 35-60 years will be a generation of old beggars on the streets and the nation will be in a shadow of fear and hatred. You cannot measure youth development and wealth on the political representation in parliament or local councils. This is misleading-Even the youth in leadership have been sidelined in policy formulation, planning and implementation. Infact the so called youth representation has turned to be a mere representation of those representatives and their families. For Example, of what benefits have the youth of Uganda registered with youth representation in the Parliament of Uganda. We need more than representation as far as poverty reduction and wealth creation amongst the young people is concerned.
I believe that the dynamic view of poverty requires going beyond aggregate cross-sectional data, focusing on the collection of information about individuals’ or specific groups’ experiences of poverty over time.
Cluster data collection, longitudinal data, even if only from small but representative sample surveys, are likely to yield better information about the economic needs and prospects of individuals and groups at risk of poverty than the large-scale and expensive household surveys. Micro-level data will provide better insights into what forms of assistance are likely to be effective. Data collection from a dynamic perspective on poverty needs to start with the identification of separate potential crisis events in a person’s life cycle—such as being born, completing a minimum level of education, obtaining a good job, losing a job, bearing children, and dying—and developing a risk profile for those most likely to experience difficulties.
It is high time government and its development partners study and adopt a new and better strategy of measuring poverty levels and wealth growth amongst the youth in Uganda.
Luzindana Adam Buyinza
National Coordinator
Uganda National Union of Young Employees and Employers (UNUYE)
Tel:+256 712 936 206,Email:buyinzaladam@gmail.com
