What Does Living in Extreme Poverty Look Like? Exploring Lived Realities in Rural Uganda

Lukas Neuwirth, Khamisi Musanje, Mathias Kayanga, Martin Mabunda Baluku and Karen Schelleman-Offermans

No xcfy6_v1, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: This qualitative cross-sectional study explored how extreme poverty is experienced in rural Uganda’s Busoga region. Thirty-two semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with adults screened for severe deprivation using the $2.15/day threshold and Multidimensional Poverty Index criteria. Transcripts were analysed via hybrid thematic analysis. Participants reported experiencing pervasive scarcity, unsafe housing, constrained water and sanitation, food insecurity, and limited healthcare. These conditions produced experiences of chronic stress, emotional fatigue, diminished agency, blocked aspirations, irregular livelihoods, and strained relationships alongside fragile community support. Narratives indicated these psychological, behavioural and social patterns were consequences of financial scarcity, suggesting a self-perpetuating poverty cycle.

Date: 2026-10-15
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:xcfy6_v1

DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/xcfy6_v1

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