In 2010, NCDS killed 1,064,000 people in Uganda. 61% of deaths due to NCDs occur below the age of 70, It is estimated that for every 100,000 men in Uganda in 2010, 1,094 men died of NCDs, Of these deaths, 12% were due to cancer,15%were due to chronic respiratory diseases, 51% due to diabetes and heart diseases. (M.O.H Rapid NCD morbidity and mortality assessment July 2011)

At the September meeting of the Vice Chancellors’ Forum in Fort Portal, it was resolved that “copyright reform and the evolution of open institutional IP policies should be on the agenda for their next meeting in December at Uganda Christian University.” The Consortium of Ugandan University Libraries (CUUL) was asked to develop a concept paper to guide the discussion. At that meeting, CUUL and other partners highlighted key copyright issues affecting the teaching and research missions of universities in Uganda.

NCDs remain conditions of late diagnosis in Uganda with a majority of people ignorant about the presentation of NCDs.

Copyright is understood to protect the economic and moral rights of creators of literary, music and other works. The copyright law gives creators exclusive rights to authorise different uses of their works.
The law however attempts to provide a balance between the private rights of creators and the public interest in a work. Knowledge is a public good and so the public interest in any work must be protected.

It has been established that exposure to tobacco through smoking is associated with poorer outcomes in HIV-associated opportunistic infections, of which TB is the commonest. The incidence rates of TB have risen rapidly as a result of the HIV epidemic. Evidence further indicates that smokers are almost twice as likely to be infected with TB and to progress to active disease.1 2 3 Smokers are also twice as likely to die from TB.