Northern Uganda: What a difference two years makes.

Northern Uganda, once dubbed "the world's worst forgotten humanitarian crisis" by U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Jan Egeland, is now emerging from one of Africa's most brutal conflicts.  Today's northern Uganda is dramatically different than it was in 2006.  The majority of internally-displaced persons have returned to or near their homes due to the improved security situation.  Elected local governments have re-assumed responsibility for governance and service delivery, previously provided by non-governmental organizations.  If anything, northern Uganda suffers from too much outside intervention.  The GOU continues to bristle at international community efforts to categorize northern Uganda as a humanitarian crisis comparable to eastern DRC, Somalia, and Darfur/Eastern Chad. (Read on)

Ambassador’s Review

Ambassador Steven A. Browning
U.S. Mission to Uganda
July 23, 2007U.S. Mission to Uganda

Northern Uganda is beginning to emerge from one of Africa’s most brutal conflicts.  Those of us fortunate enough to be serving in Uganda at this time are watching and participating in a dramatic transformation.  One year ago, the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army began negotiations to end a 21-year old insurgency that saw the abduction of over 40,000 Ugandan children and displacement of 1.8 million northerners.  Today, 80 percent of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) are now accessing up to four acres of land near or in their home areas.  The phenomenon of the “night commuters”, children who sought refuge in shelters to avoid abduction at night, has dwindled from 24,000 in 2005 to less than 2,700 in 2007.  Those still seeking shelter do so for other reasons than fear of LRA abduction. (Read on)

PEPFAR Strengthens UPDF with Critical HIV Services

Uganda’s military population is mostly young and prone to risk-taking behavior. The military mentality portrays risk takers as heroes. These characteristics, coupled with a mobile military lifestyle, combines with the right ingredients to form a high-risk population for HIV. (more)

Church Groups Congregate to Reduce Stigma and Lift Spirits

To challenge stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS, NUMAT (Northern Uganda Malaria, AIDS and TB) is implementing ‘Channels of Hope,’ a curriculum to mobilize faith communities to respond to HIV and AIDS in a positive way. (more)

CDC Partners to Battle Hepititus E Outbreak in Northern Uganda

In October 2007, the largest hepatitis E epidemic ever reported in Africa hit northern Uganda’s IDP camps.  As of November 2008, there are 8,879 cases and 139 deaths. A disproportionate number of deaths were among pregnant women and children under the age of 2 years. (more)

From First Test to Last Breath

Area residents who test positive for HIV at the Comboni Samaritans center are referred to St. Mary's Lacor Hospital, just a few miles away, for an initial medical examination. If test results show that a patient's weakened immune system requires antiretroviral treatment, the patient is directed back to Comboni Samaritans of Gulu, this time right down the hall. (more)

Healing Bodies, Changing Minds

Community outreach is of particular importance in the Gulu region. The considerable transience of Gulu's population due to conflict has led to the highest HIV prevalence rate in Uganda. Some residents in the Gulu area are so poor, they are willing at times to accept rice in return for sex. (more)

The Power of Peace and Partnership

In northern Uganda, a few short years have meant the difference between life and death, especially for those living with HIV.
Incredibly, back in 2004, the lifesaving cocktail of antiretroviral medications was actually available in war-torn Gulu. But the long conflict between government forces and the Lord's Resistance Army limited community access to the medications. (more)

Full of Life

The comprehensive care and treatment offered by this powerful AIDSRelief partnership is lifting people up from their deathbeds. Five years ago, Betty Acellam, who moved to Gulu in late 1988 because of the war, couldn't even stand up to get to a clinic. With help from Comboni Samaritans of Gulu and St. Mary's Lacor Hospital, she is now full of life, filling every room she walks into with her bright smile and glowing presence. (more)

Ambassador Steve Browning commissions the Invisible Children School

Ambassador Steve Browning commissions the Invisible Children School

On October 29, 2008 the US Ambassador to Uganda, Mr. Stephen A. Browning, was keynote speaker at the “Brick by Brick: Building a Brighter Future” ceremony in Gulu, northern Uganda which was attended by hundreds of students, American volunteers, local and national government leaders, and the staff and teachers from schools throughout the region.  The program was sponsored by the NGO Invisible Children with funds raised by participating high school and college students in the United States.  The event took place at St. Joseph’s College Layibi, and at the end the school’s physical renovation and new chemistry lab supported with funding by the Brick by Brick project was inaugurated with a ribbon cutting ceremony. (more)

USAID Director visits Northern Uganda

USAID ADMINISTRATOR AND DIRECTOR FOR FOREIGN ASSISTANCE HENRIETTA FORE VISITS NORTHERN UGANDA

Henrietta H. Fore, Administrator of USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance visited Uganda from March 12 -16, 2008.  She is responsible for managing U.S. foreign assistance aimed at improving developing countries’ social, economic and political systems.  In Uganda, U.S. assistance focuses on strengthening the conditions for peaceful development in post-conflict northern Uganda; promoting the institutionalization of multi-party democracy; addressing key health threats including malaria and HIV/AIDS; incorporating smallholder farmers into the value chain and protecting biodiversity in the environmentally threatened Albertine Rift and endangered areas of northern Uganda. (more)

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