Browsing by Author "Ssebunya, Margaret"

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Herbalists in a digital aeon : neo-liberalism and the ethics of informal medicine in Uganda
(Jumuga Journal of Education, Oral Studies, and Human Sciences, 2026-05-22) Kizito, Michael George; Ssebunya, Margaret
In the 21st century, Uganda’s social milieu is witnessing a paradigm shift, from formal to informal medicine. This has been occasioned by the upsurge of information technology, in terms of radios, televisions, mobile phone technology and the internet. Unlike formal medical practitioners who are under a stringent obligation to avoid advertising their medical services, informal medical practitioners, such as: traditional herbalists, are utilizing the power of the air waves to advertise their services. The immense advertisement by informal practitioners has created the impression that informal medicine is more efficient and curative than formal pharmacology. Surprisingly, some of these informal pharmacology techniques are more costly than the formal ones. The fundamental problem of informal medicine still lies in its persisting situatedness in mysticism, myth, and anachronism. This implies that it is deficient of painstaking pharmacological experimentation and diagnosis. In Uganda, the article argues, neo-liberal politics has taken precedence over painstaking and efficacious pharmacology; and this is evident in the fact that there are no sustainable codes of ethics to regulate herbal medicine in the country. This has debilitating implications on patients’ right to health and patients’ empowerment.
Ubuntu and unsustainable environmental practices in Uganda: the case of sand mining and rice farming
(Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2025-03-01) Ssebunya, Margaret; Kisitu, Gyaviira ; Isiko, Alexander Paul
Self-destruction in pursuit of economic development through reckless exploitation of nature and failure to address environmental contaminants is overly evident within Uganda. Even though the Ugandan context would traditionally subscribe to the Ubuntu ethic of existential bond, interrelatedness, interdependence, and interconnectedness between people and the environment, this remains challenged amid the country's increasing pursuit of economic development. While the sand mining and rice farming investments are key to the national economic development of Uganda, their tendency to employ unsustainable environmental practices compromises the health and sustenance of people in Uganda and leads to environmental deterioration. In this chapter, we explore sand mining and rice farming practices in the Lwera wetland that have altered the physical appearance and hydrology of the land, resulting in massive flooding, which in turn leads to the destruction of people’s property, public road infrastructure, and displacement of people. We argue that these practices in their present state lead to an ongoing ecological scandal that runs parallel to the ethics of interdependence of individuals and the environment. Unavoidably, they have increasingly impaired the interconnectedness between humanity and nature and have also brought about pseudo-development, which is incompatible with human dignity. The ecological scandal faced by the country is a prompt to get back to the core principle of Ubuntu, noting that the wellbeing of Ugandan society is indispensable from its dependence on and interdependence with the natural environment. The key question that we seek to answer is: How can the African ethic of Ubuntu be used to influence the values and behavioral change of the sand mining and rice farming investors in Uganda to positively contribute to the country's economic development without ruining the environment?