Press Release
The United States Rehabilitates Infrastructure Projects to Support Economic Development in Uganda’s Karamoja Sub-region
Kampala, Uganda, February 15, 2023 – The United States Mission in Uganda, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), this week commissioned economic infrastructure projects in the Karamoja Sub-region. The projects include the rehabilitation of community access roads in four districts and the Nadunget Livestock Market in Moroto District.
USAID’s Nuyok project rehabilitated 54 km of community access roads in the Abim, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit, and Napak districts. Catholic Relief Services implemented the project in collaboration with the district local governments. The rehabilitated roads will improve access to markets and help people reach health and education services. Activities under the project created temporary work for 4,725 people.
Also this week, USAID commissioned the refurbished Nadunget Livestock Market. The Apolou project, funded by USAID and implemented by Mercy Corps in collaboration with Moroto District Local Government (DLG), rehabilitated the market. The construction work focused on including modern additions such as loading and off-loading ramps, water supply and storage infrastructure, an incinerator, waiting sheds, a veterinary and administration work block, fencing, cattle-weighing scales, and a cattle stall. The improvements will increase the market’s volume of formal livestock trade, which in turn will increase income for traders throughout Karamoja and revenue for the Moroto DLG. The refurbishments will also improve the ability to detect and report livestock diseases, saving animals’ lives and improving income for traders. Approximately 1,000 livestock traders currently use the market each market day, a number which is expected to double with the upgrades. Traders travel from as far as Kenya and South Sudan to Nadunget, the second market USAID has rehabilitated in Karamoja.
In 2018, USAID launched both the Nuyok Activity (Nuyok is a Nga’karimojong word meaning “it is ours”) in the western districts of Abim, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit and Napak, and the Apolou Activity (a word meaning “growth” or “it is growing” in Nga’karimojong) in the eastern districts of Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto, and Amudat. The activities aim to improve food and nutrition security and to strengthen the self-sufficiency of the people in the subregion.
“USAID is committed to strengthening Uganda’s resilience and food systems in the face of global shocks,” said Richard Nelson, USAID/Uganda Mission Director. “In 2022, USAID directly reached about 540,000 individuals in Karamoja. Our efforts improved livestock health, increased food production and access to water sources, and improved health through teaching good sanitation and hygiene.”
For more information on U.S. development initiatives in Uganda, read the 2022 edition of the Report to the Ugandan People, which tells the story of the United States’ enduring 60-year partnership with the Ugandan people, focused on the impact of our work to increase economic growth, improve health and education, strengthen regional security, and promote democratic values. The United States is a proven partner Uganda can depend upon.
For additional information, please contact:
Dorothy Nanyonga, Information Assistant
U.S. Mission Uganda
Cell: 0772-138-194, Email: KampalaPress@state.gov
