Qualitative Assessment of Resilience to the Effects of Chronic Conflict in Northern Uganda

The conflict led to the internal displacement of over two million people. Resettlement efforts, economic recovery projects, and cultural and religious coping strategies have helped mitigate the vulnerability of affected communities, but recovery has been slow. The qualitative assessment in northern Uganda aimed to understand the drivers of vulnerability and adaptive capacity of target communities to conflict. The assessment was conducted in three districts: Pader, Lamwo, and Lira. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted in two sub-counties in each district. Key informants included representatives from government agencies, development agencies, and local leaders. Focus group discussions consisted of eight participants in each sub-county. The assessment identified the main shocks and stresses resulting from floods and landslides in northern Uganda as loss of economic self-determination, breakdown in social networks and value systems, increase in sexual and gender-based violence and trauma, suicide, poverty, food insecurity, damaged infrastructure, increased morbidity and mortality, land disputes, and decline in social services. The underlying driver of the slow pace of post-conflict recovery was governance, characterized by corruption, land disputes, and lack of access to social services. The assessment revealed that diversified wealth creation activities could improve household incomes and investment in infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, and housing, could enhance resilience. Additionally, addressing governance issues, including corruption and land disputes, and improving access to social services were recommended interventions. The assessment also highlighted the importance of promoting coping and adaptation strategies, such as cultural and religious coping mechanisms, to strengthen resilience in northern Uganda. The study area, as shown in Table 1, consisted of three districts in northern Uganda: Pader, Lamwo, and Lira. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted in two sub-counties in each district. The assessment framework, as depicted in Figure 1, identified the theoretical framework for resilience factors associated with socio-economic devastation following decades of conflict in Northern Uganda. The resilience framework for chronic conflict in Pader, Lamwo, and Lira districts, as shown in Figure 2, highlighted the inter-dimensional concurrence of resilience dimensions. The assessment also identified the relationships among resilience dimensions and probable entry points, as presented in Table 3. The results of the assessment were used to develop a context-specific resilience framework, which proposed interventions to strengthen resilience in northern Uganda. The assessment was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of the report are the responsibility of the ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) - Eastern Africa Resilience Innovation Lab (EA RILab), Makerere University, Uganda, and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.