What issues are we addressing?

CARE’s analysis points at three main issues that keep on driving poverty and social injustice in Uganda as described above. Therefore, all our programs are designed to address these root causes. While long term programs are better equipped to effect change on these drivers, CARE Uganda also ensures its humanitarian interventions address them. Sometimes, emergencies are even creating opportunities that would otherwise not exist. This is certainly the case around gender inequality. During crisis, women are often forced to take on roles traditionally reserved for men. Likewise, emergencies may create spaces for dialogues with duty bearers that displaced people may not have had before, enhancing governance and accountability. This is certainly the case in Uganda, thanks to the Government’s progressive refugee policy that gives refugees a voice.

Addressing the risk of conflict is particularly critical during emergencies as the pressure on limited natural resources can cause tensions with host communities and between refugees. Lastly, chaos and disruption caused by shocks and displacement may force people to learn and embrace new skills, including more climate-smart technologies and less environmentally harmful practices to which they may not have had access or be open for before. Today, development and humanitarian actors refer to this framework as the triple “nexus” between humanitarian, long term development, and peace. For CARE, this is not a new concept as we are systematically tackling these issues across the continuum of aid.