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The Institute for Global Health and Development

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/9

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Author: search.filters.author.Pearson, GeorginaSubject: search.filters.subject.Uganda

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    Border parasites: Schistosomiasis control among Uganda’s fisherfolk
    (Taylor & Francis, 2012-04-13) Parker, Melissa; Allen, Tim; Pearson, Georgina; Peach, Nichola; Flynn, Rachel; Rees, Nicholas
    It is recognized that the control of schistosomisais in Uganda requires a focus on fisherfolk. Large numbers suffer from this water-borne parasitic disease; notably along the shores of lakes Albert and Victoria and along the River Nile. Since 2004, a policy has been adopted of providing drugs, free of charge, to all those at risk. The strategy has been reported to be successful, but closer investigation reveals serious problems. This paper draws upon long-term research undertaken at three locations in northwestern and southeastern Uganda. It highlights consequences of not engaging with the day to day realities of fisherfolk livelihoods; attributable, in part, to the fact that so many fisherfolk live and work in places located at the country’s international borders, and to a related tendency to treat them as ‘‘feckless’’ and ‘‘ungovernable’’. Endeavours to roll out treatment end up being haphazard, erratic and location-specific. In some places, concerted efforts have been made to treat fisherfolk; but there is no effective monitoring, and it is difficult to gauge what proportion have actually swallowed the tablets. In other places, fisherfolk are, in practice, largely ignored, or are actively harassed in ways that make treatment almost impossible. At all sites, the current reliance upon resident ‘‘community’’ drug distributors or staff based at static clinics and schools was found to be flawed.
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    Making a livelihood at the fish-landing site: Exploring the pursuit of economic independence amongst Ugandan women
    (Taylor & Francis, 2013-09-26) Pearson, Georgina; Barratt, Caroline; Seeley, Janet; Ssetaala, Ali; Nabbagala, Georgina; Asiki, Gershim
    Qualitative life history data were used to explore the experiences of women who live at five fish-landing sites on Lake Victoria, Uganda. We explored what economic and social opportunities women have in order to try to understand why some women are more vulnerable to violence and other risks than others and why some women are able to create successful enterprises while others struggle to make a living. The ability of women to create a viable livelihood at the landing sites was influenced by a wide variety of factors. Women who had or were able to access capital when they arrived at the landing site to set up their own enterprise had a significant advantage over those who did not, particularly in avoiding establishing sexual relationships in order to get support. Being able to establish their own business enabled women to avoid lower paid and more risky work such as fish processing and selling or working in bars. The development of landing sites and the leisure industry may be having an impact on how women earn money at the landing sites, with the most desirable economic opportunities not necessarily being connected directly to fishing.