Economic Empowerment
Nationally, an estimated 6.7 million Ugandans (19.7%) are categorized as poor. The incidence of poverty in Eastern Uganda is 24.5%, much higher than the national average of 19.7%. This implies that about 24.5% of Luuka residents’ personal income lies below the poverty line which is $1.25 a day. 8.1% of young adults aged 18 – 30 in Luuka are neither working nor in school.
The rising levels of poverty in East Central Uganda is in part due to; commercialization of sugarcane growing at the expanse of food crops resulting into buying food, sharp changes in prices of goods and services including livestock diseases. Whereas 65% of the population in Luuka is engaged in agriculture, continuous diverse climate change effects of the long dry spell and, crop diseases/pests have affected crop yield thus affecting household income. Additional factors such as high population growth, lack of education, limited access to quality healthcare account for the increased poverty in the region.
Targeted economic empowerment programs coupled with appropriate skilling of persons in relevant arts will contribute to improvements in household income hence realization of self-reliant communities.