Livelihoods, basic services and social protection in Northern Uganda and Karamoja

For decades, the populations in Northern Uganda and Karamoja suffered terrible loss of life and livelihoods through armed conflict and widespread insecurity. This paper aims to help pinpoint strategic opportunities for future research on how best to promote improvements in quality of life for conflict-affected populations. It does this by presenting evidence on three fronts.

First, the paper reviews livelihoods in Northern Uganda and Karamoja and the various factors supporting and challenging livelihood recovery. This includes a review of existing responses to support livelihoods on the part of government institutions, aid agencies, local populations and the private sector. Second, it summarises access to basic services and social protection interventions. As with the livelihoods section, this includes a review of existing responses, in this case in support of access to basic services and social protection. Finally, it presents an analysis of the data, evidence and methodologies utilised in the literature reviewed.