This Kotido District Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Profile integrates scientific information provided by Government of Uganda agencies and hazard and vulnerability knowledge provided by communities on the district base map to contribute to a Ugandan atlas of disaster risk. It will support planning and decision-making processes to manage disaster risk in the District.

The Kotido District Local Government and the Department of Disaster Preparedness and Management in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), embarked on a process of mapping the hazards and analysing disaster risks and vulnerabilities in Kotido district. The objective of the hazard, risk, and vulnerability mapping was to produce a District Profile that will aid planning and decision making processes in addressing disaster threats/risks in Kotido District.

The information contained in this District Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Profile will guide the adoption of disaster risk management (DRM) measures in the district and inform the development of the district’s contingency and development plans. 

The findings identified twelve hazards predominant in the district, in order of decreasing risk: drought and food insecurity, environmental degradation, human disease, flooding, pest infestations, crop and animal disease, land conflicts, strong winds, bush fires, cattle theft, hail storm and lightning, and vermin and problem animals.   Drought, environmental degradation, human disease ranked closely as the most dangerous and high-risk hazards for people throughout Kotido District. 

All of the sub-counties have significant vulnerability to disaster, accumulating risk from these hazards.  Kacheri and Kotido sub-counties have the highest risks, and Rengen is distinguished by manifesting all twelve hazards. This aggregated vulnerability to several hazards at once compounds the exposure to disaster risk and the complexity of managing it.  Kotido Town Council has the lowest risk but still aggregates significant vulnerability to most of the hazards.

This is part of UNDP’s support to the Government of Uganda to strengthen its capacity in Disaster Risk Management and be prepared to respond to any likely disasters that may come up particularly those related to the climate.