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III. Methods

This report is based on information gathered in Uganda in November 2004 as well as extensive prior and subsequent research.  Two Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed children and young adults in and around Kampala, Mbale, Mbarara, Kabarole, and Kasese.  At schools, we spoke with dozens of pupils, teachers, headteachers, and members of AIDS clubs.  For out-of-school children and young adults, we worked through nongovernmental organizations providing health and education services to children and assistance to street children, child laborers, and sex workers.  Most interviews were conducted in English; translation was provided for young people whose first language was Luganda or Rutooro.   

In Kampala, Human Rights Watch interviewed representatives of the president and first lady’s offices, as well as representatives from the ministries of health and education.  We spoke with officials of various United Nations agencies, the U.S. government, the Uganda AIDS Commission, and the Uganda Human Rights Commission.  We collected information from health service providers, religious leaders, academics, nongovernmental organizations, and Ugandan AIDS activists.  Secondary sources from peer-reviewed published literature, NGO reports, and other materials supplemented what we gathered in Uganda.  All materials cited in this report are either publicly available or on file at Human Rights Watch.

For HIV prevention programs supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), “youth” is defined as those aged fifteen to twenty-four.  In Uganda, youth has been defined as anyone aged fifteen to thirty, or any young person who is not yet married.  The term “youth” has no legal definition in international human rights law, though “child” refers to anyone under the age of eighteen.1  In this report, we use the terms “youth” or “young people” to describe those targeted in prevention programs in Uganda, and “child” when referring to those under eighteen.



[1] The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child states: “For purpose of this present Convention, a child is every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.” Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 1, adopted November 20, 1989 (entered into force September 2, 1990).


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