Uganda
Key facts:
Hazards covered by anticipation
Drought | Flood | Epidemic | Displacement/ Conflict
People reached by anticipation (activation)
START Network Ebola: 316,232
START Network Refugees: 58,072
Anticipation partners in country
Uganda Red Cross Society | WFP | National Department for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Management | Ministry of Water and Environment | Uganda National Meteorological Authority | Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development | Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries | Ministry of Local Government | Ministry of Planning, Finance and Economic Development
Inform Risk Index
Hazard and Exposure: 5.5
Vulnerability: 7.0
Lack of Coping Capacity: 7.0
Total: 6.5 (very high risk)
Rank: 14
Photo by Uganda Red Cross Society
Country Profile
Uganda is a landlocked, equatorial, low-income country with a primarily warm, tropical climate. The vast majority (approximately 84 percent) of the population lives in rural areas and approximately twenty percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The primary hazards Ugandans face vary by region and include floods (in the center and the east, as well as along other major rivers), droughts (especially in the north-east and center of the country), landslides and mudslides (along the Kenyan border in the east), epidemics, and earthquakes (along the western border). Hundreds of thousands of people are also at risk from volcanic eruptions in the southwest, though there have been no eruptions in recent years and data on potential future eruptions is lacking. On average, 200,000 Ugandans are affected by disasters every year. Upwards of 80 percent of Ugandans are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and the agricultural sector as a whole produces 25 percent of Uganda’s GDP. Although food insecurity is not a chronic problem in most areas (89 percent of the population is considered food secure) droughts and floods periodically threaten agricultural production, and hence food security. The impacts of drought are exacerbated by desertification and environmental degradation. Floods, such as those experienced in 2007, lead to fatalities and cause major damage to crops, schools, and other infrastructure.
Projects
Strengthening Shock-sensitive systems in Karamoja
In 2020 WFP began supporting multi-sectoral anticipatory actions to effectively address the cross-cutting impacts of drought. An important innovation will be to assess the capacity of national social protection instruments, including unconditional cash transfers and labor-intensive public works, as potential anticipatory actions.
Innovative Approaches to Response Preparedness (IARP)
Uganda Red Cross Society was one of the first National Societies to pilot forecast-based financing. Building on work started in 2014, IARP began in 2018 to develop EAPs for floods and for droughts.
Anticipation of Ebola
In 2018 START Network provided £165,000 in anticipatory funding to Care International and Relief International to prevent the spread of Ebola from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo. The organizations conducted a rapid Knowledge Attitude Practices (KAP) assessment among refugees and provided training to local health workers, reaching over 300,00 people (alert 254).
Anticipation of Refugees
In 2016 START Network funded Action Against Hunger, Oxfam, and Save the Children in anticipation of refugees entering Uganda because of conflict in neighboring South Sudan. The organizations provided non-food items, and psychosocial, nutritional, and WaSH/hygiene support to vulnerable individuals, reaching over 58,000 people (alert 096).