There have been thousands of targeted poverty eradication initiatives for and in Greater Northern Uganda by the Government of Uganda and other actors.

Initiatives of which some were most likely carried out under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and currently are being implemented under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In spite of those poverty eradication initiatives, however well-meaning they were or are, poverty sustains unabated and is thriving in Greater Northern Uganda, which in fact is the poorest region in Uganda.

A significant number of households, over 30 percent of the region’s population, are living below the poverty line.

A poverty map generated in 2019 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) using 2016/2017 data shows:

• 34.9 percent of people in West Nile are living in poverty
• 33.4 percent of people in Acholi are living in poverty
• 15.6 percent of people in Lango are living in poverty
• 25.1 percent of people in Teso are living in poverty
• 60.2 percent of people in Karmoja are living in poverty

With all their impurities, poverty lines, nevertheless, in some cases, correctly indicate the extent of poverty among communities.

Assuming the UBOS map is indicative of poverty in Uganda, the thesis of our CPAR Uganda “Model I: Understanding Poverty in Rural Uganda”  of our “Mentoring Young Adults into Innovators against Poverty” project is:

“Actors in the poverty eradication arena have insufficient understanding of poverty.

Consequently, their insufficient understanding of poverty is a root cause as to why well-meaning poverty elimination initiatives fail.“

Policy makers, implementers and ordinary citizens seemingly have not taken the time to genuinely analyse poverty and more so to contextualize their analysis relevant to greater northern Uganda, Uganda as whole and Sub-Saharan Africa, in general.

This is among the major reasons why poverty sustains and may be among reasons why the SDGs may not succeed where the MDGs failed.

Against this background, we, CPAR Uganda, are the more convinced of the importance and urgency of our mission:

Engage in educational and scientific activities to stimulate the development, dissemination and widespread application of technologies suitable and adaptable to the social, cultural and economic conditions of developing countries.

Please do contact us. We would love to hear from you on how we can partner in facilitating policy makers, implementers and all of us active citizens to cultivate a culture of contextual analysis and appreciation of poverty.