but we also reached out to relevant government agencies and spoke with officials at the
Expanding Social Protection Programme (ESP) of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social
Development (MGLSD). We also reached out to the National Identification and Registration
Authority (NIRA), and the Ministry of Health (MOH), but were not able to secure interviews
or receive answers to written questions. We also interviewed relevant representatives at
the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth
& Development Office (FCDO), formerly known as the Department for International
Development (DFID), and the World Bank’s ID4D initiative. We were unfortunately unable
to secure an interview with Irish Aid in Uganda, despite repeated attempts over the course
of five weeks. We furthermore conducted key informant interviews with academics and
other subject matter experts working in the fields of health, citizenship, social protection,
and human rights in Uganda and abroad.
This report further draws on an analysis of Ugandan laws, policies, budgets,
and practices relevant to the national ID system.63 We reviewed reports and publicly
available documents from relevant ministries, departments, and agencies of the Ugandan
government, as well as external reports and evaluations conducted by digital ID funders
and donors including the World Bank, UNICEF, FCDO, and Irish Aid. We analysed publicly
available data about the Ndaga Muntu system, as well as public healthcare and social
protection systems in Uganda.
How a National Security Approach to Uganda’s National
Digital ID Has Led to Wholesale Exclusion of Women and Older Persons
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