BY INNOCENT KIIZA AND ALEX BALUKU
On a humid afternoon in Kasese District, the sound of rushing water is never far away. For the families living at the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, memories of the last flood remain vivid. In May 2024, flash floods and landslides devastated communities, sweeping away homes, bridges, and farmland. “We had just planted beans when the water came,” recalls Margaret Nanyombi, a farmer from Kanyangeya. “The river changed its course overnight. We lost everything.”
Hundreds of kilometers away, in Karamoja’s sun-scorched plains, the story is different but equally devastating. Drought has lingered, robbing families of harvests, livestock, and livelihoods. Children walk for miles in search of water, and relief food often becomes the only meal of the day. “Our animals are dying, our children are hungry,” says Lokiru Peter, a pastoralist from Moroto. “The rains used to come when we expected. Now, they come late or not at all.”
These twin realities floods in Kasese and drought in Karamoja, frame Uganda’s climate struggle: a nation caught between extremes, fighting to adapt with scarce resources.
It was with these images in mind that Uganda’s Vice President, Maj. (Rtd) Jessica Alupo, took the podium at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Her message to world leaders was urgent and unapologetic: Uganda, like much of Africa, is living on the frontlines of climate change despite being one of the lowest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions.
“We continue to witness climate and weather extremes that devastate our communities, yet our countries have contributed least to global emissions,” Alupo declared. “This is a matter of fairness, justice, and survival.”
She called for climate justice, urging wealthy nations to honor their promise of $100 billion annually to help vulnerable countries adapt and mitigate climate risks.
The Vice President’s words found immediate resonance for Ugandans already living with the cost of inaction. In Kasese, repeated floods have displaced thousands, with the district emerging as a hotspot for climate-induced disasters. Local schools are periodically converted into temporary shelters, and families often rebuild homes multiple times in the same decade.
In Karamoja, where drought has fueled cycles of hunger and insecurity, adaptation is harder still. The pastoralist way of life is under threat, and climate-driven scarcity has sometimes deepened conflicts over land and water.
Surveys show that more than seven in ten Ugandans report experiencing extreme droughts and heatwaves in the past five years. For many, climate change is no longer a scientific debate; it is a lived experience that determines whether families eat, migrate, or rebuild.
Uganda has not stood idle. Alupo highlighted initiatives such as restoring wetlands, reforesting degraded land, and promoting climate-smart agriculture to build resilience. Coffee farmers are being encouraged to plant shade trees, while communities are experimenting with drought-resistant crops and early warning systems for floods.
Uganda has also updated its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, pledging to cut emissions and strengthen adaptation. A new Health National Adaptation Plan is targeting climate-linked diseases such as malaria and cholera, which surge after floods.
But financing remains the biggest barrier. The World Bank estimates that climate change could shave off over 3% of Uganda’s GDP growth by 2050, and the country faces a multi-billion-dollar financing gap to implement its adaptation and mitigation plans.
“Our efforts alone cannot be enough without adequate means of implementation,” Alupo reminded delegates.
Uganda’s appeal came as UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world is running out of time to limit global warming to 1.5°C. He outlined five urgent priorities: accelerating clean energy, cutting methane emissions, protecting forests, scaling up green technologies, and above all, ensuring climate justice.
“Clean is competitive, and climate action is imperative,” Guterres stressed, pointing to next year’s COP30 in Brazil as a turning point for delivering the $1.3 trillion in annual climate finance needed by 2035.
For Uganda, these global conversations are not abstract; they hold the promise of survival. Without adequate financing, Kasese will face more destructive floods, Karamoja will sink deeper into hunger, and Uganda’s biodiversity from gorillas in Bwindi to wetlands that store carbon, will be further imperiled.
Uganda’s message to the world is clear: climate finance is not charity, but justice. Wealthy nations that built prosperity on fossil fuels must shoulder responsibility for the suffering now felt in places like Kasese and Karamoja.
“The Government of Uganda remains committed to protecting biodiversity, but we cannot succeed in isolation,” Alupo told the UN. “Our appeal is not charity. It is a call for equity and shared responsibility.”
As Uganda looks toward COP30, the stakes are enormous. For Margaret in Kasese, rebuilding her farm depends not only on local resilience but also on global solidarity. For Lokiru in Karamoja, keeping his cattle alive requires more than prayers for rain; it requires a climate system that still works.
Uganda’s voice at the UN General Assembly carried the weight of millions living on the climate frontlines. From flooded riverbanks in Kasese to drought-stricken plains in Karamoja, the demand for climate justice is no longer a diplomatic slogan but a lived necessity.
The question remains whether the world will listen and act before the next flood sweeps through a Rwenzori village or before another Karamoja family buries its last cow.
