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Poor meat hygiene practices are a major cause of food borne diseases which has led to morbidity and mortality globally. The World Health Organization estimates that over 600 million foodborne illnesses and 420 million deaths worldwide are due to poor hygiene practices in the meat sector, with the developing countries carrying the brunt of this load. The situation in Uganda is not much different from the global statistics and many studies have been undertaken especially in the capital city Kampala on butcher hygiene. What was still unknown is the situation in the many peri urban centers around the country which are having rising population and host many residences. This study was therefore carried out in Kasangati town council, Wakiso district, Uganda, to specifically establish the level of adherence to meat hygiene practices among butcher operators, identify the factors affecting adherence to meat hygiene practices and identify the relationship between these factors in this per-urban center in a developing country. Results of this study show that education level of butcher operators; availability of functional waste disposal tank in a butcher premises; availability and use of hand gloves were significantly associated with adherence to meat hygiene practices among the butcher operators. The study also found out that a large percentage (65.7%) of the butcher operators were not adhering to meat hygiene practices. This low adherence to the above factors which are significantly associated with meat hygiene practices inevitably contributes to contamination of meat and spread of meat borne diseases in this town. The paper concludes by recommending a more effective law enforcement and education and awareness by the public health authorities and making a practical monitoring and evaluation regime to reduce non adherence and increase adherence to meat hygiene practices.

The tropical rain forest is facing increasing destruction and degradation and the ones in Africa much more so. The challenges include establishing the activities and factors which are contributing greatly to this situation. This study therefore critically assessed the influence of arable farming, lumbering and charcoal processing on deforestation in Rwamwanja refugee settlement camp in Kamwenge District, Uganda. This refugee camp is mainly habituated by refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The socio demographic data indicates that most of the refugees interviewed were male (94.3%), most of them (60.3 %) were married and ranged between 35 to 50 years old (62.1%). The results show that all these factors (arable farming, lumbering and charcoal burning) significantly contribute to the high rate of deforestation in this camp. However, the major contributor is lumbering (3.30) closely followed by Charcoal (3.26). The above two factors are mainly fueled by high income from lumbering and lack of energy for domestic use. The results further show that the increasing human population due to increasing number of refugees is resulting in increased settlement which in turn leads to increased deforestation as the above demands grow in this refugee settlement camp. The study recommends that there is need for a more detailed study to identify practical alternatives which would lead to effective protection of the forests around this refugee settlement. It is also further recommended that education and awareness on tree conservation for the local refugee communities becomes part of the settling in program including identifying other income generating activities and other sources of energy for the refugees.