The health and safety of children in the Karamoja region of Uganda is at serious risk, as rising prices and depleted resources make it difficult for families to find food.

February 2009

In Uganda’s Karamoja region, where inconsistent rains have caused crop loss for the third consecutive year, coping with hunger is now the number-one priority.

“Children are being pulled from school, the sick are not being treated, and parents are forced to beg just for something to feed their children with,” says World Vision staff member Rudo Kwaramba. As a result of meager harvests and increasing food costs, many parents have little choice but to watch their children suffer.

An empty granary

“I have not cooked anything today. I don’t even know what the kids are going to eat today,” says Lochoro, a 38-year-old mother of five. Lochoro lives alone with her children because their father cannot afford to pay the culturally required bride price for taking his wife. Though he occasionally sends money, it is rare that he can afford to give them help. Women are the breadwinners in Karamoja, and the responsibility of feeding her children, ages 7 months to 8 years old, falls directly on Lochoro’s shoulders.

Typically, Lochoro grows sorghum, a coarse grass that can be ground into flour. But this year, her granary is empty. “I planted sorghum in March, but the drought came in April and killed the plants,” she explains. As she talks, Lochoro’s children eat the only thing they can find: residue of the brew from a local sorghum plant.

Karamoja is facing a food shortage for reasons beyond the drought that took Lochoro’s crops. Armed warriors from different clans in the region have been stealing cattle, depriving families of livestock, which provides meat and commodities like milk and butter. And last year, floods destroyed crops in neighboring districts that typically supply Karamoja with food. As a result, food prices in the region have almost doubled.

Severe hunger

As prices increase, individuals like Lochoro, whose resources have been greatly diminished, are forced to seek creative ways to fill their children’s stomachs. Often, Lochoro sells firewood or collects water from a borehole and hawks it in the army barracks.

“If I sell water and get like 400 shillings, I can buy eight rats. I smoke the rats, cut them into pieces, and fry the meat, or boil it if I don’t have cooking oil,” she says. Though Lochoro is doing her best to keep her children fed, lack of proper nutrients puts them at risk of malnutrition and makes them more vulnerable to a variety of other conditions.

Attempts to cope

Malnutrition is becoming increasingly widespread throughout northeastern Uganda, as more than 2.1 million people are thought to be in need of food assistance. Like Lochoro, many in Karamoja are making desperate attempts to cope with hunger, selling stones and charcoal, stealing food, or migrating to other cities to seek labor or beg. Families are also cutting back on vital necessities, including health care, education, and agricultural inputs, just to buy food for daily survival.

As the crisis escalates, the health and safety of children is at serious risk. “We are very concerned about the state of children in northeastern Uganda, especially those in the Karamoja region,” says Kwaramba. Some children have been left to fend for themselves, as their mothers seek work in the city. Others have been found wandering the streets in Kampala, nearly 250 miles from home, trying to find their next meal.

World Vision's response

World Vision recognizes the urgency of this crisis and is taking immediate action to combat malnutrition and food insecurity in northeastern Uganda. As Kwaramba acknowledges, “food aid at this point is a must.” We are currently beginning food distributions that will reach more than 450,000 of the most vulnerable in the region. Direct food assistance provides nutrient-rich foods to individuals like Lochoro’s children, giving them the strength to overcome malnutrition.

As World Vision works to ensure survival for the present, our staff members are also concerned about sustainability for the long term. World Vision is calling on the Ugandan government to implement policies that will improve food security, resilience to drought, food availability, and food prices.

World Vision is also prepared to begin agricultural and water interventions that will help Karamoja survive future droughts and reduce its dependence on food from other districts. With proper inputs and training, Lochoro will not have to face an empty granary again, and the health and safety of children in her community will be restored.

Here in the United States, World Vision advocates for a comprehensive approach to combating hunger as we urge Congress to expand programs reinforcing child nutrition and agricultural development. Increasing food assistance is one of several ways to reduce hunger and malnutrition in places like Uganda.

“Global hunger needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner which includes short-term and long-term responses,” says Robert Zachritz, World Vision's director of advocacy and government relations. “In conjunction with other programs, food assistance can lessen the impact of world hunger and help break the cycle of extreme poverty.”