Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2019, 7, 133-146 https://www.scirp.org/journal/jss ISSN Online: 2327-5960 ISSN Print: 2327-5952 DOI: 10.4236/jss.2019.711011 Nov. 20, 2019 133 Open Journal of Social Sciences The LRA and Its Costs on Economic Security in Gulu District, Northern Uganda Anne Abaho, Solomon Asiimwe, Micheal Mawa Nkumba University, Entebbe, Uganda Abstract The study acknowledged economic security as part of the wider security con- ceptions especially in human security. Using the case of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the study brought to light the costs of conflict on economic se- curity particularly in Gulu district, Northern Uganda. It adopted a qualitative approach and relied on primary data collection methods (Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and observation) to assess how conflict affected economic security. Field findings revealed that the conflict had tremendous effects on economic security ranging from destruction of property and loss of assets, reduction in production and persistent poverty among others. The study recommended that the government should deliberately target the most vul- nerable groups for training and skilling as well as capitalization of income generating projects. Keywords Security, Economic Security, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Gulu District 1. Introduction The objective of the study was to; assess the economic insecurities resulting from the LRA conflict in Gulu District, Northern Uganda. Conflict poses serious challenges at all levels—from individual to collective compromising the chances of achieving political, social and economic stability [1]. [1] explains the size of the problem in statistical forms indicating that about 191 million people lost their lives to political violence in the 20th century and since the turn of the cen- tury, about 4 million have died in armed conflict [1]. In 2008, the United Na- tions Development Program (UNDP) confirmed that conflict has devastating consequences; creates large numbers of casualties either directly or indirectly, exacerbates malnutrition and disease, substantially leads to loss of livelihood, How to cite this paper: Abaho, A., Asiimwe, S. and Mawa, M. (2019) The LRA and Its Costs on Economic Security in Gulu Dis- trict, Northern Uganda. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 133-146. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2019.711011 Received: September 6, 2019 Accepted: November 17, 2019 Published: November 20, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access