Interconnections between health, environment, demographic, and livelihood factors: shaping food security in Rukiga, Uganda

The food-health-poverty nexus and the challenges of addressing this connection are well recognized, yet there is insufficient research to understand the complexity of local situations that would provide necessary information on where and how to intervene to make progress on the interconnected SDGs for health (SDG 3) and food security (SDG 2). This chapter reports on qualitative research conducted in small-scale farming communities in the Rushebeya Wetlands and adjacent areas in Rukiga District in western Uganda. It revealed the interconnected pathways of how climate variability, suboptimal farming practices and population stress contribute to environmental degradation, highlighting in particular how women who are reliant on environmentally dependent livelihoods face heightened risks in the absence of access to family planning services, impacting their health and nutritional well-being. These vulnerabilities underscore the urgent need to move towards cross-sectoral programming that acknowledges the interconnected challenges posed by demographic pressures, ecosystems, livelihoods, and health.