This Briefing Paper presents the main findings from the review report. The review considered the roles of the National Emergency Coordination Center (NECOC) and District Disaster Management Committees (DDMCs) in collecting and analyzing early warning information, and in timely response to drought.
In the history of Karamoja, drought has been one of the most important types of disaster, with major impacts on livelihoods. For livestock-owning households, drought can push both wealthy and poorer households into destitution, and the recovery of herds, their main form of financial capital, takes many years. Drought also has serious impacts on crop production and can decimate harvests. In the case of livestock interventions, there have been notable developments in effective drought response in many countries in the wider East Africa region, including novel partnerships between government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private sector to provide early and more cost-effective programming.
The review synthesizes the main issues impacting livestock production in the region and identifies critical factors affecting livestock production. This review is drawn largely from the literature produced during the last five years on Karamoja generally, and more specifically on the livestock sector in Karamoja. Additional information was obtained through interviews in Kampala and Moroto with Government and NGO staff in April and May 2016.