Please refer to the attached file. Executive Summary Uganda is increasingly exposed to climate related shocks that affect livelihoods, food security and household wellbeing. At the same time, the Government has made significant progress in strengthening the social protection sector through the development of the National Social Protection Policy, the National Social Protection Strategy 2024–2029 and the National Shock Responsive Social Protection Framework (NSRSPF). These developments, together with ongoing efforts in disaster risk management (DRM), anticipatory action and climate adaptation, have created opportunities to strengthen the role of social protection in supporting resilience and shock response. The Study on Climate Sensitive and Shock Responsive Social Protection in Uganda was commissioned by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to assess opportunities for strengthening climate sensitive and shock responsive social protection in Uganda. The study reviewed relevant policies, programme reports and technical assessments and conducted more than 20 remote key informant interviews with government institutions, development partners and other stakeholders, while also drawing lessons from ongoing implementation experiences, particularly in Karamoja. The study finds that Uganda already possesses many of the building blocks required for shockresponsive social protection. Existing policies, institutions, programmes, delivery systems, early warning systems and coordination structures provide a strong foundation for implementation. However, the study identifies several constraints that continue to affect responsiveness, including limited operational readiness, fragmented coordination arrangements, weak interoperability between information systems, financing constraints and limited integration between social protection, DRM and anticipatory action processes. Further, findings indicate that recent implementation experiences demonstrated the feasibility of using existing Government systems to deliver shock responsive assistance. These experiences highlight the importance of preparedness, clear coordination arrangements, operational readiness, effective use of climate information and strong engagement of national and subnational actors. A key priority is no longer to establish whether shock responsive social protection is feasible, but rather to strengthen and institutionalise the systems required to support implementation at scale. The study therefore recommends prioritising improvements in institutional coordination, operational readiness, financing arrangements, data and information systems, and integration between social protection, DRM, anticipatory action and climate adaptation processes. The study identifies four priority areas for future investment and action; strengthening institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms, strengthening programmes and delivery systems capable of responding to shocks, improving data, information and early warning systems and strengthening financing arrangements to support timely and scalable responses. The study concludes that Uganda has a strong foundation upon which to build a more climate-sensitive and shock responsive social protection system. Continued investment in preparedness, coordination, operational systems and financing arrangements will be critical to supporting implementation of the National Shock Responsive Social Protection Framework and improving the ability of social protection systems to support vulnerable households before, during and after climate related shocks.
Report on Climate-Sensitive and Shock-Responsive Social Protection in Uganda (October, 2026)
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