The Government of Uganda, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and development partners have begun consultations on an ambitious five-year programme aimed at transforming livestock production, strengthening peace and security, and building resilient livelihoods in the Karamoja sub-region.
The proposed Integrated Livestock Development, Peacebuilding and Resilience Enhancement for Sustainable Livelihoods in Karamoja (ILPRE-Karamoja) is expected to run from January 2027 to December 2031, providing a new framework for coordinating government and development-partner interventions in one of Uganda’s most economically vulnerable regions.
The programme was unveiled on Friday, August 14, 2026, during a National Consultative Workshop on the Joint Karamoja Programme convened by the IGAD Mission to Uganda in Naguru, Kampala.
The initiative comes amid renewed efforts by government and its development partners to move Karamoja beyond fragmented humanitarian and livestock interventions towards a more integrated model combining economic transformation, peacebuilding, climate resilience and sustainable resource management.
Presiding over the workshop, Joselyn Bigirwa, Head of the IGAD Mission to Uganda, said the proposed programme was born out of high-level engagements between IGAD Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu and Gen. Salim Saleh, followed by guidance from the Office of the President.
According to Bigirwa, ILPRE-Karamoja is intended to consolidate and scale up gains made under the IGAD Drylands Strategy and the 14-year Karamoja Integrated Development Programme (KIDP).
The programme will be built around five strategic pillars: improving livestock productivity; strengthening sustainable cross-border management of grazing land and water resources; preventing and managing conflicts; developing stronger livestock and agricultural markets; and improving land-use governance.
A key feature of the proposed programme will be deliberate inclusion of women and young people, with IGAD stressing that local communities should not remain passive beneficiaries of development programmes.
Instead, communities are expected to take ownership of projects and institutions designed to improve their livelihoods.
Bigirwa said implementation would be aligned with Uganda’s existing national development frameworks, particularly the Karamoja Integrated Development Programme and the Fourth National Development Plan.
IGAD is expected to work closely with Operation Wealth Creation, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, alongside other government agencies and development partners.
A multi-agency technical steering committee chaired by Bigirwa will guide the programme’s technical development and implementation.
The committee brings together specialists from IGAD institutions dealing with pastoralism, climate prediction, monitoring and evaluation, conflict early warning, forced displacement and migration, food policy and trade.
Among those on the committee are Dr. Dominic Kathiya Lokeris of the IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development, Dr. Geofrey Sabbitti of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre, Andrew Malinga of the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism, and officials responsible for monitoring, displacement, food policy and trade.
Livestock at the centre of transformation
Development partners participating in the consultations said the new programme must go beyond traditional livestock distribution programmes if Karamoja is to achieve sustainable economic transformation.
The Chair of the Karamoja Development Partners Group identified integrated livestock development, peacebuilding, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods as key funding priorities.
Partners were urged to invest not only in livestock, but also in the systems that determine whether pastoral communities can turn animals into sustainable incomes.
These include veterinary and animal health services, water infrastructure, rangeland management, livestock value addition and market access.
The partners also stressed that economic development cannot be separated from peace.
Persistent insecurity and conflict can prevent communities from moving animals, accessing markets, sending children to school and reaching health facilities.
Peace and social cohesion were therefore described as prerequisites for successful economic transformation.
Government demands stronger coordination and accountability
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Edith Namutebi Nsubuga, Head of the Peace and Security Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed government’s commitment to securing Karamoja and other border regions.
She said Uganda’s international standing and regional stability were closely linked to the country’s ability to address insecurity and underdevelopment in border communities.
Namutebi Nsubuga argued that security and economic transformation should not be treated as separate government priorities.
She said a stable environment would allow development agencies and government programmes to focus on improving livelihoods and building community resilience.
“Government remains committed to providing an enabling security environment so that development actors can prioritize livelihoods and resilience,” she said.
However, she cautioned that previous investments in Karamoja had not always produced results commensurate with the resources committed.
Although the Karamoja Integrated Development Programme attracted substantial investments, she said there was a need for better coordination, sharper prioritisation and stronger accountability.
Rather than spreading resources across numerous projects, she called for concentration on fewer interventions capable of producing measurable and lasting results.
She also urged stakeholders to follow up on feasibility studies previously undertaken by the Ministry of Water and Environment, while drawing lessons from successful adaptation programmes implemented in other arid regions.
Namutebi Nsubuga outlined four immediate priorities for the new programme: closer coordination between security and development actors; deliberate efforts to change community mindsets and strengthen ownership; accelerated economic empowerment to reduce dependency on aid; and disciplined implementation within the 2027–2031 programme period.
Karamoja development plan worth Shs15.1 trillion
The proposed ILPRE-Karamoja programme will operate alongside Uganda’s broader Karamoja Regional Development Plan, which was approved by Cabinet on July 21, 2025.
The 10-year regional plan seeks to transform Karamoja from a predominantly nomadic and agro-pastoral economy into a more settled and commercially viable economy by 2035.
The plan is responding to deep-rooted socioeconomic challenges facing the region.
According to the presentation by Brenda Apio, a Senior Economist at the National Planning Authority, the 2023/24 National Household Survey put Karamoja’s poverty rate at 74.2 percent, while food insecurity and inadequate infrastructure remain major obstacles to development.
The regional development plan has been valued at Shs15.1 trillion and proposes a series of large-scale investments intended to fundamentally alter the region’s economic landscape.
Among the flagship projects are Kidepo International Airport, an industrial park and cement plants in Moroto, meat and hides processing facilities in Kotido, and the proposed Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
The plan also proposes expansion of boarding facilities for universal primary and secondary education, subsidised tertiary tuition for Karimojong students and a dedicated budget for water development in the region.
If implemented effectively, the investments are expected to create new economic opportunities while reducing the region’s reliance on subsistence pastoralism and external assistance.
Community ownership emerges as key lesson
The workshop also heard that sustainable development in Karamoja will require communities to own and manage economic initiatives long after donor-funded projects end.
Rony Oved, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AgroMax Uganda Ltd, presented the Sustainable Business Development Initiative (SBDI) as an example of a community-driven approach.
The initiative, which operates in 11 villages involving 370 households in Nakapiripirit District, is based on cooperative and mechanised agriculture.
Oved highlighted the experience of the Tokora Community Association, where members reportedly used proceeds generated from agricultural activities to rehabilitate tractors and water infrastructure after the conclusion of the third Northern Uganda Social Action Fund programme.
The model, he argued, demonstrates that community enterprises can survive beyond donor-funded projects when residents have ownership, productive assets and systems for maintaining those assets.
Five years after the project ended, the enterprises remain operational, remunerate members, maintain their assets and continue attracting new partnerships, according to the presentation.
The experience is likely to reinforce the new programme’s emphasis on community ownership rather than externally driven interventions.
A new approach to Karamoja
The consultations signal an attempt by government and its partners to bring together interventions that have traditionally been handled separately — livestock, water, peace and security, climate resilience, markets, land governance and social development.
For Karamoja, where pastoral livelihoods are closely connected to access to grazing areas and water, the approach could also have implications beyond Uganda’s borders.
Cross-border management of grazing and water resources is one of the five pillars of ILPRE-Karamoja, reflecting the reality that pastoral communities and livestock movements frequently cross national boundaries.
IGAD’s involvement is therefore expected to provide a regional dimension to the programme, particularly in dealing with shared resources, conflict prevention, climate pressures, migration and trade.
The success of the five-year programme, however, is likely to depend on whether the ambitious framework can be translated into coordinated projects with clear financing, measurable targets and strong accountability.
Participants at the Kampala workshop concluded that ILPRE-Karamoja offers a coherent framework for transforming Karamoja through productive livestock systems, conflict mitigation and resilient livelihoods.
But they also acknowledged that the programme will need to avoid the weaknesses associated with previous interventions by prioritising high-impact projects, ensuring coordination among agencies and development partners, and putting communities at the centre of implementation.
With implementation proposed to begin in January 2027, the ongoing consultations are expected to shape the final design of a programme that government and IGAD hope will help shift Karamoja from dependence and vulnerability towards a more productive, peaceful and commercially integrated regional economy by 2031.
