Poverty and Migration: The Ugandan Experience

A couple of months ago, at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, a decapitated body of a stowaway literally fell from the skies from a departing aircraft. It was the body of a desperate Ugandan who had been attempting to ‘migrate’ abroad for a better life. Ironically, like it is said, all human beings potential migrants until they die. This paper delves into the migration of Ugandans to the various international destinations and pull and push factors among which is poverty which stands at 38%. It analyzes, based on the 2006 UNCTAD report and the background paper by Chris Manning, on the socio-economic ramifications of emigration on the Ugandan society and the various desperate ways and means the Ugandans use to migrate into foreign countries. The politicization of migration by the western world and the advantages that accrue to Uganda are assessed. The paper looks at the way Government together with the international community can address and solve the migration push factors so that Ugandans can happily remain in their country.


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