The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported in January 2001 a national total of 623,645 internally displaced people and 218,926 refugees within Uganda from five other African nations. The Development Challenge Despite impressive economic gains, major issues still confront Uganda's growth and development, including high levels of poverty, high population growth rates, a heavy reliance on agriculture, weak governance structures, and continuing conflict. Uganda's progress, when seen in light of its emergence from dictatorship only 15 years ago, is impressive. The country has had to rebuild a shattered economy, confront a devastating AIDS epidemic, and try to lift its people out of mass poverty. Poverty in Uganda, as in many developing countries, is a multidimensional problem.
Poverty also affects the country unevenly, falling harder on areas in the north and west.
In addition, complex emergencies, such as drought, food insecurity and conflict, decrease citizen access to the benefits of economic growth and create vulnerability to instability and inequity. This continues to burden Uganda's already limited fiscal resource base and creates significant problems for the delivery of social services and maintenance of infrastructure. The program continues to achieve impressive results. There has been a marked increase in the land base due to improved management with 19 protected area management plans now in place. In addition, the number of sustainable development activities in the twelve target districts increased from 26 in 1998 to 33 in 2000.