I am the chairman of the health board for the Province of the Church in Uganda. In that regard, we are trying to build clinics in rural areas to care for all kinds of sickness, including tropical diseases and AIDS, and care for disabled people, the elderly, especially from polio. We are also providing education for women, as well as men and youth. We hope to build places for street children who have left home in a false pursuit of wealth. These children end up begging and go without food of proper care, contracting deadly diseases.
Poverty is also the cause of many wars and conflicts in Africa.
Many people's lives are improved by projects to reduce poverty, because they can foster peace. There can be peace because people will have the opportunity to work and have food to eat. Empty stomachs cause people not to relate to each other, which manifests conflict. My government and church leaders are keen to use the benefits for programs for the poor and to account for all of the money that would be freed by debt cancellation. In Uganda, we have shown how the government and church can work together to make debt cancellation meaningful.