![Refugees gather at a makeshift camp near Kibati, 12 km north of the provincial capital of Goma, October 29, 2008 [REUTERS/Stringer, courtesy www.alertnet.org]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/dr-congo/images/refugees-who-fled-fighting/934156-2-eng-GB/refugees-who-fled-fighting_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
![More than 700 campaigners rallied before delivering anti-poverty messages to every EU embassy in London [CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/media_folder/cafod/images/campaign_images/trade_justice_campaign_images/embassy_bus/199633-2-eng-GB/embassy_bus_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
![Fatna (right) brings home wood that she and some neighbours have harvested from outside the camp in Kubum, south Darfur [Paul Jeffery/ACT/Caritas]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/sudan/images/fatna-right-brings-home-wood/247664-2-eng-GB/fatna-right-brings-home-wood_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
![Niccollette and Shrirvanie film the aftermath of the Guyanan floods, with support from CAFOD partner Guyana Human Rights Association [CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/what-we-do/communications/images/after-guyana-floods/679742-1-eng-GB/after-guyana-floods_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
Uganda
![Bridget Burrows (right) meets Evelyn (centre), who was in captivity for ten years and eleven months [CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/uganda/images/bridget-burrows-right-meets-evelyn-/272129-2-eng-GB/bridget-burrows-right-meets-evelyn-_medium.jpg)
Though economic reform has been attempted, Uganda has suffered the consequences of high debt levels that has diverted funds away from education and health
Following years of violent and authoritarian rule during the 1970s and 1980s, President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986.
Since then, elections have been held and economic reform has been attempted.
However Uganda still suffers the consequences of high indebtedness, which has diverted funds away from education and health services.
Key challenges
HIV/AIDS: Official statistics show around 1.5 million Ugandans are living with HIV.
Low employment: Large numbers in towns and cities have little or no work. In rural areas, women suffer as men keep most of the income from farming for themsleves, ignoring the rest of the family.
Environmental damage: Insufficient and irregular rain has resulted in deforestation, while pollution in urban and industrial areas is also a problem.
![Father John Felix Opio is director of Caritas Gulu, the social arm of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Gulu, Northern Uganda [Caritas Internationalis]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/uganda/images/father-john-felix-opio/273088-2-eng-GB/father-john-felix-opio_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg)
Father John Felix Opio explains how Caritas Gulu will continue to help victims of the 20-year war in Uganda, even after a lasting peace agreement is found |
![Robina Ssentongo works at the Kitovu Mobile Home Care unit, bringing practical and emotional support to those living with HIV [Annie Bungeroth]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/uganda/images/robina-ssentongo/45392-3-eng-GB/robina-ssentongo_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg)
The Medical Missionaries of Mary run a Mobile AIDS Home Care and Orphans Programme which supports people with AIDS and children left orphaned by the disease. |
![Helen Kiyagondaze, 12, is the daughter of Magezi Topista, 28, an ESAP-supported farmer. She enjoys helping her mum with the animals [Annie Bungeroth]](/var/storage/images/media/cafod/images/africa/uganda/helen_kiyagondaze_27020/4110-1-eng-GB/helen_kiyagondaze_27020_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg) Children take the lead in Uganda Schoolchildren in Uganda are running Wildlife Clubs to reverse years of environmental degradation |
![CAFOD supported communities with seeds, tools and training to help local people move home and reintegrate in Northern Uganda [CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/uganda/images/move-home-and-reintegrate/945382-1-eng-GB/move-home-and-reintegrate_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg) CAFOD film about Uganda to star in UN festival Our documentary about war-torn Northern Uganda will mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights at the “We the Peoples” film festival |
![Girl stands at a refugee camp in Kibati near Goma in eastern Congo November 9, 2008 [REUTERS/Finbarr O' Reilly, courtesy www.alertnet.org]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/dr-congo/images/girl-stands-at-a-refugee-camp/945044-1-eng-GB/girl-stands-at-a-refugee-camp_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg) Rebels cause further suffering Over the past two months thousands have been left homeless, dozens killed, and hundreds of children and young adults abducted by the Ugandan Lord Resistance Army (LRA) operating in Northern Congo |
New hope for lasting peace in Northern Uganda CAFOD Director Chris Bain is travelling to Gulu in Northern Uganda to see how our partner Caritas Gulu is helping people re-start their lives after 20 years of conflict |
