APPP Background Paper 16. ‘What works for the poor.’ Local governance systems and the delivery of maternal health, water and sanitation in two rural districts of Uganda

Abstract

This report is part of a wider research undertaken in six African countries on local governance and leadership. The main focus of the research was to assess the relationship between the variety of local governance systems and their performance, as gauged by their provision of public goods that are normally under-provided. In Uganda, the study homed in on three public goods: Maternal Health (safe motherhood); Water; and Sanitation and Hygiene. Carried out in Rakai and Masaka districts from May 2010 to March 2011, the ten months study used ethnographic methods for investigation. This mainly involved observation, formal and informal conversations with both key informants as well as with other members of the community