Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Food Program has embarked on the distribution of home take-away rations for primary and secondary school learners in the Karamoja region. The food distribution is aimed at ensuring that school-going children in the region have access to food while at home at …
Read More »Lockdown restrictions escalate malnutrition cases in Manafwa
Manafwa, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health officials in Manafwa district have reported an escalation of food insecurity, poverty and cases of malnutrition among the marginalized groups during the time of the COVID-19 lockdown. Dr Emma Gahima, the in-charge of Bugobero health center IV and Manafwa district nutrition focal person …
Read More »Malnutrition on the rise in Karamoja
Karamoja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Karamoja region is threatened with increasing cases of malnutrition according to Simon Ondoga, a senior nutritionist in Moroto Regional Referral Hospital. Odonga says that the malnutrition rate in the region has grown from three in 10 children under five years in 2018 to …
Read More »Virus could double food insecurity in nine African countries: UN
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The spread of COVID-19 risks devastating countries across East Africa, where food insecurity could more than double in just three months, the United Nations warned Tuesday. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that some 20 million people currently do not have secure provisions of food across nine countries in the …
Read More »Coronavirus could double number facing acute hunger: UN
Paris, France | AFP | The coronavirus pandemic could nearly double the number of people around the world facing acute hunger, the UN’s World Food Programme warned Tuesday. “The number of people facing acute food insecurity stands to rise to 265 million in 2020, up by 130 million from the 135 million in 2019, as …
Read More »Fight against desert locusts sustained despite coronavirus crisis measures
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Efforts to contain the invasion of desert locusts are on going across the East African region despite limits on the flow of personnel and equipment stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Food and Agriculture Organization-FAO says that the infestation of locusts regarded as the …
Read More »East Africa faces unprecedented hunger threat – UN Agencies
East Africa, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Along with climate shocks, conflict and acute food insecurity, the East Africa region now faces a hunger threat from desert locusts, top UN relief officials have warned, calling for urgent action to avert a major food crisis. The locust upsurge is a graphic and …
Read More »Locust invasion sparks uncertainties in Northern Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents and leaders in northern Uganda are anxious over the possible invasion of crop-devouring desert locusts that have devastated parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. The swarms with unprecedented size and destructive potential have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of crops, posing a bigger …
Read More »Food insecurity in Karamoja could worsen- new study
A new study carried out by the government of Uganda and its development partners says a new weather pattern could worsen food insecurity in the Karamoja region if no action is taken. The study found that the average monthly rainfall in the region increased over the last 35 years and …
Read More »East Africa’s rapid population growth to worsen food insecurity
By Ronald Musoke Food insecurity which is already a perennial challenge in East Africa could be worsened by the region’s rapidly growing population— already one of the highest in the world, a new book published by three international research institutions has warned. The book entitled ‘East African Agriculture and Climate …
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