Bwindi Region and Issues

Uganda is ethnically diverse, with many ethnic groups and languages. It lies in sub-saharan Africa and is land-locked. It contains great biodiversity, and was famously described by Winston Churchill as the 'Pearl of Africa'. Although there are a large number of languages spoken in Uganda many people in Uganda use English as a common language, and English is used in newspapers and other media.

Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest is a National Park in the Kanungu district of south western Uganda, around 600km from the capital, Kampala. The region around Bwindi is a rural area, and before the rainforest was designated a National Park it was an important source of food, fuel and other essentials for local people. The majority of the people of the area around Bwindi are Bakiga, Bafumbira or Batwa pygmies, who lived in the rainforest until it became a National Park. Some residents originate from bordering Rwanda or DRC Congo, and there are currently many Congolese refugees living in the area.

Uganda has been devastated by the HIV/AIDs epidemic. In Uganda HIV has spread mainly by heterosexual transmission and has affected huge numbers of young adults, leaving communities struggling to cope with the many orphaned children.