Uganda will not be able to achieve the development goals under a continuation of current policies. The largest gaps are estimated to be in attaining universal primary education and reducing child and maternal mortality. At most, current policies would achieve only half of the targets for these indicators by 2015, and approximately 75% to 85% of the targets set for access to water and basic sanitation services. Using additional public spending to fill in these gaps would be very costly for the country.

Hover over to expand

Effect of infrastructure spending on MDG indicators

Better public infrastructure (i.e., roads, electricity supply, telecommunication networks, etc.) can accelerate the achievement of the MDGs in Uganda, by making social services more accessible and functional. It can also add a demand impulse to the economy and enhance productivity. The analysis confirms that indicators of education attainment and access to water and sanitation would improve by 0.5-2.6%, while those of mortality fall by 0.8-1.1%, assuming an increase in spending on general public infrastructure of 25%.

Hover over to expand

Government spending savings from targeting all MDGs simultaneously

Targeting all MDGs simultaneously in Uganda brings about benefits due to cross-MDG complementarities. Expanded access to drinking water and sanitation facilities has a positive effect on child and maternal health. In turn, healthier children have a higher chance to enrol in and complete school. A policy that targets all MDGs simultaneously—rather than one by one, or separately—could save the Ugandan state budget up to 1.27% of GDP per year.