Uganda has played a starring role in the story of the Nile ever since 1862, when the explorer John Henning Speke found the spot where the river flows from Lake Victoria, near the current day town of Jinja, and speculated that he had discovered the source of the Nile. Later explorations placed the ultimate source further to the south, in Burundi, but Uganda is still popularly thought of as the source of the Nile, and a steady stream of visitors from around the world comes to Jinja every year to see it. But the Nile is far more to Uganda than a mere tourist attraction. Fully 99 percent of the country is in the Nile Basin, and the river touches the lives of virtually all of the country’s more than 35 million people. As it winds its way north and west from Lake Victoria, crashing through the magnificent Murchison Falls before turning north at Lake Albert, the river is used for hydropower, transportation, fishing, agriculture and a wide range of other activities. Uganda hosts the secretariat of NBI.
Uganda and the Nile Basin Initiative: Benefits of Cooperation
