Although Uganda has made significant reductions in poverty levels, from 56% of the
population in 1992 to 34% in 1999/2000, there is evidence to suggest that households far
below the poverty line are more likely to experience extended duration of poverty, with a
major cause being the lack of human/health endowment. Health plays a major role in
establishing whether people are trapped in poverty, and is particularly important in Uganda
where there is a high incidence of HIV/AIDS and economic reforms are primarily aimed at
creating an enabling environment for economic agents to exploit by using their initial
endowment of capabilities.
Using household panel data from for 1992-2000 this paper investigates the impact of sickness
on the level of poverty (chronic, transient or non-poor) and the effects of income levels on
health status. In order to fully analyse the former of these it is important to differentiate
between long and short term sickness so that we can establish how serious illnesses, such as
AIDS, might differ in the impact on poverty status, compared to less serious illnesses.
However, equally as important is the influence of income on health status, and more
specifically how income levels might influence changes in sickness levels.