Kampala — TENS of thousands of people die every month in war torn northern Uganda as a result of disease, poor living conditions and war, according to a new report by NGOs working in the region.

The report released by Civil Society Organisations for Peace in Northern Uganda (CSOPNU) on Thursday, said at least 131 people mostly children die everyday as a result of the violence and poor conditions in hundreds of IDP camps.

"There are 918 excess deaths each week. Each month, almost 25,000 people in Uganda die from easily preventable diseases," CSOPNU said.

This would translate into 47, 736 deaths in a year.

CSOPNU is a coalition of about 40 member organisations advocating lasting peace in the region.

Member organisations include CARE International, Oxfam GB, the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network among others.

When contacted for a comment, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, refused to confirm or deny the mortality rate.

"The critical point here is that even one life lost is too many. That is why the government and the Uganda People's Defence Forces are working tirelessly to prevent any life of our children and people in the north being lost," he said.

He added, "The government is soon ending the insurgency which is the surest way to end the suffering of our people. The UPDF have done an excellent job and after the mop up operations, our people will be able to go back to re-establish their homes and lead a normal and productive life."

Violence

According to CSOPNU, some 58 children under the age of five die as a result of violence and preventable diseases each day.

"Three times more children under five years die in northern Uganda than in the rest of the country," the NGOs said.

The report said a quarter of all children in the region older than ten years had lost one or both parents, while a quarter of a million children in the region had never received formal education.

The report said 85 per cent of deaths that would not have occurred under normal, non-crisis circumstances, could be directly attributed to the poor living conditions, poor water and sanitation, inadequate health care provision and extreme poverty in the camps.

The conflict, according to the coalition, has displaced up to two million people, forcing them into more than 200 overcrowded camps, where they depend almost entirely on humanitarian relief for their survival.