Water resources support key sectors of the economy namely: hydropower generation, agriculture, fisheries, domestic water supply, industry and navigation among others. However, the efficiency and sustainability of water utilization has recently been a concern in Uganda mainly due to inadequate sectoral collaboration in planning and implementation, increasing frequency of floods and droughts, environmental degradation and pollution of water resources.

Water and rangeland resources are the basis for livestock production in pastoralist areas of Africa and therefore have major impacts on pastoral livelihoods. Households with insufficient access to water or productive rangeland experience suboptimal herd growth and production, with associated negative impacts on the income and nutritious foods that livestock provide. In common with other African pastoralist and agropastoralist areas,

Water and rangeland resources are the basis for livestock production in pastoralist areas of Africa and therefore have major impacts on pastoral livelihoods. Households with insufficient access to water or productive rangeland experience suboptimal herd growth and production, with associated negative impacts on the income and nutritious foods that livestock provide.

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 objectives of the gender assessment were 1) To get a clear understanding of the gender dimensions within the catchments; and 2) To identify gender mainstreaming approaches for the project components.