Conflict Brings Fewer Ugandan Crops - Children, Refugees Suffer

For the past two years, the people of Uganda's Karamoja region have not been able to grow enough food because violence that had ended with a government-led disarmament more than 15 years ago has returned, write Patricia Lindrio and Nakisanze Segawa for Global Press Journal.

Between March and July 2022, 518,000 people in Karamoja experienced severe food shortage, including more than 91,000 children who were severely malnourished and 9,500 pregnant women who needed treatment because they did not have enough to eat, according to an analysis by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an organization that provides policymakers with research about food security.

Similarly, the nation's food security is an additional crisis for refugees from DR Congo. This follows a budget shortfall at the World Food Programme that forced the United Nations agency to slash a significant amount from the monthly cash stipend it gives refugees in western Uganda to cover the cost of food and other living expenses.