Northern Region

Northern Region is Uganda's post-conflict recovery zone—the territory that endured the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency from 1987 until the 2000s, when Joseph Kony's forces were largely pushed into neighboring countries. The Acholi sub-region bore the worst violence, with hundreds of thousands displaced into camps. Two decades after the conflict's peak, Northern Region remains Uganda's poorest: lower education levels, limited infrastructure, and trauma that persists across generations. Yet the region also borders South Sudan, creating trade opportunities (and risks) as oil exploration extends northward. The 600 MW Karuma Hydropower Project (commissioned September 2024, $1.7 billion) sits in northern Uganda, providing both electricity and construction employment. If Uganda's oil revenues ($1.5-3 billion annually at peak) are distributed nationally rather than captured by Kampala elites, Northern Region would benefit significantly. The government's infrastructure push—including the oil-related roads and facilities—could accelerate northern development. But historical marginalization and the distance from EACOP's western route mean Northern Region's oil benefits are indirect. The region's trajectory depends on post-conflict investment continuing beyond oil fever.