A USAID-backed moringa project in Uganda offered rural farmers modest payments and a rare path toward stability. Then the funding stopped for good.
Although local service providers have tried to secure shelter and hotel rooms, many unhoused individuals have simply been dispersed to nearby areas, likely losing belongings such as identification cards, access to survival spaces, and connections to social services. Multiple cities now brace for similar purges in the wake of an executive order signed in July that supports the removal of encampments.
Such sweeps hinder people's ability to go to medical appointments, destroy medications and equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs, and expose people with limited ability to protect themselves from the elements. The unhoused must constantly move and often endure sleep deprivation. Further, such forced displacement interrupts treatment for those with mental health issues, including substance misuse. These challenges accumulate to worsen the health of the unsheltered and can contribute to expedited deaths.
