The Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) in conjunction with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) is carrying out a countrywide assessment of the livelihood programs to explore how Uganda can foster resilience among her people.
The key question for the assessment is why poverty has increased despite the large government investments in improving its citizens livelihoods. The livelihood study is being implemented across 4 thematic areas namely:-
Evolution of livelihoods in Uganda and the nature of strategies adopted by individuals,
Households and communities; Policies, institutions, and the processes in place that foster livelihoods in Uganda; Extent to which livelihood mechanisms adopted by government are building resilience among people and Adequacy of livelihood financing in Uganda. The Government of Uganda has been implementing various livelihood programs/projects aimed at empowering the target communities to enable them improve their livelihoods.
Livelihood programs are defined as those supporting households income enhancement and welfare improvement .The interventions undertaken by those programs /projects have been mainly through the provision of start- up inputs such as planting materials, farm implements, trainings and skills, start -up kits, agro-processing and other value addition equipment.
Some of the programs are countrywide such the Youth Livelihood Program while others target specific regions such as the Peace Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP).EPR in partnership with the OPM I carrying out an assessment of the programs implemented across the government ministries, departments and agencies(MDAs) with a view to establishing their impact on the targeted areas. The assessors have traversed all parts of the country as well as interacted with key stake holders in the MDAs to collect valuable information. Results of the study will further guide policy direction regarding the program design and implementation.