The war-wounded and recovery in northern Uganda. SLRC Briefing Paper No. 6

Abstract

In 2012/13, SLRC implemented the first round of an original sub-regional panel survey in northern Uganda aimed to produce data on livelihoods, access to and experience of basic services, exposure to shocks and coping strategies, people’s perceptions of governance, and the impact of serious crimes committed during the Government of Uganda and Lord’s Resistance Army conflict on households’ livelihoods, access to services, exposure to crimes, and perceptions of governance. This briefing paper presents the SLRC, Uganda survey findings specifically focused on the war wounded, defined in our survey as people who sustained physical, psychological or emotional injury due to the conflict that currently impairs functionality. Our survey produced the first representative findings from all of Acholi and Lango sub-regions on the number of war-wounded, and looks at the relationship between war wounds and households’ livelihoods outcomes, wealth, assets, food security, access to basic services, experiences of serious crimes, and perceptions of governance. This briefing paper summarises key findings regarding war-wounded households, building upon findings presented in the larger working paper, “Surveying livelihoods, service delivery and governance – baseline evidence from Uganda.” The main findings presented in this paper include: (1) 5 percent of the population of Acholi and Lango sub-regions are impaired or incapacitated by war-related physical, psychological and emotional injuries. (2) Households with war-wounded members are more likely to have fewer assets, worse food security, fewer livelihood activities, and use more coping strategies to survive. (3) The more serious crimes a person experienced, the more likely they are to have an ongoing injury that impacts their ability to function today