The donation includes 300,000 doses of Foot and mouth Disease vaccines in cattle and other big ruminants, 140,000 doses for small ruminants, and another 200,000 doses for lung disease in small ruminants. It also included re-agents and tool kits for laboratory use that shall be used to aid early detection of outbreaks, which the field officers have to immediately report to the ministry.
The teacher, identified as Emmanuel Longok landed himself into trouble when the community spotted him picking food items from the school stores and loading them on his motorcycle on Saturday.
The analysis indicates that all nine districts of Karamoja, namely Kotido, Kaabong, Karenga, Nabilatuk, Abim, Moroto, Napak, Amudat, and Nakapiripirit, have been classified as IPC Phase 3. This classification signifies a crisis level of food insecurity, leading to a surge in malnutrition rates.
Moses Nyang, the Refugee Welfare Council three (RWC3) for Adjumani Refugee Settlements says many refugees especially those in Nyumanzi refugee settlement have rejected the idea to have rice instead of maize grains.
The prevailing high cost of food has compelled school administrators to adjust their menus and regular feeding schedules such that they can operate within the available limited budgets.
Catherine Ahimbisibwe, the Acting Commissioner for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees said WFP has so far transported up to 400 metric tonnes of food to the area.
Each month they return to the camps to receive their monthly food ration. However, due to the COVID-19 restrictions on the movement of people and vehicles, some South Sudan refugees staying in Arua city are struggling to find what to eat and can no longer sustain their families.
Uganda is one of the countries that were expected to be among the first to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, by 2030 as outlined in Sustainable Development Goal number two. But since 2015, there seems to be no progress, despite a slight increase in agricultural output, according to the agencies.
Currently, the food supplements being distributed to malnourished children and expectant mothers in Karamoja sub region as well as in refugee settlements are imported from Rwanda and Pakistan, and therefore the agency meets high costs; prompting UN Resident Coordinator Rosa Malango to push for locally manufactured supplements.
World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley says that for millions of children around the world, the meal they get at school is the only meal they get in a day, and without it, they go hungry, risk falling sick and dropping out of school.
Uganda currently hosts over 1.4 million refugees from South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi among other countries. Lydia Wamala, the WFP Uganda Office spokesperson, says the reduction is as result of the Corona Virus pandemic, also known as COVID-19.
Sources at school indicate that the pupils left school for their villages in Katakwi district on foot. Nickson Igulot, the deputy head teacher Moroto Army Primary School, says he is surprised that the pupils disappeared from school.
As of June 2019, WFP Uganda provided monthly unconditional, unrestricted cash transfers to around 360,000 refugees in eight settlements that include; Adjumani, Rhino, Kiryandongo, Lobule, Kyaka II, Rwamwanja, Kyangwali and Nakivale.
The dancer is in the country to draw attention to Japan’s cooperation with Africa ahead of a key August conference on African development in Japan. He has gone through the hillsides of Namalu in Nakapiripirit district, visiting schools and communities, courtesy of the World Food Programme.
The development follows cases of mismanagement of food in schools, health facilities and community, specifically in Karamoja Sub Region, where WFP assistance reaches nearly a quarter of a million people. Reports indicate that quite often, aid food has ended up in the market where it is openly sold to willing buyers.
Usami, who concluded his two- day visit to Moroto and Nakapiripirit districts in Karamoja observed that there is a lot of potential in the region that can transform the region except that people have limited technology.
World Food Program supplies maize grain to schools in Karamoja in order to ensure that children have midday meals and can concentrate in class. By close of last term, there was a balance of 400 kilograms of grain in the school stores, according to the school records.
The five agencies include the United Nations Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund-(UNICEF) and the United Nations Office for Project Service (UNOPS).
