John Bosco Akore, the secretary Kotido Elder’s Council told URN that the severe shortage of food has led to widespread malnutrition, which caused the death of 58 children and elderly people between May and June this year.
Kumakech noted that a number of organizations, individuals and investors donated food to the task-force and it was distributed to benefit some communities across the district. Among investors that have donated food to Moroto include, Sunbelt, Tororo Cement, Pastor Samuel Kakande, Hon. Fred Angela, Full Gospel Church under Compassion International among others.
The floods affected 50 villages with an estimated population of 30, 000 people when Rivers Namalu, Amaler and Kocol-kokoi burst their banks causing devastating floods that submerged houses and swept away property.
The affected group came up earlier to cry for help, saying many of them were starving and pleaded to be classified as a vulnerable group that needs to be considered for urgent food relief. The group also threatened to name and shame leaders who benefit from their illicit trade, who have abandoned them at their time of need.
The sales fell drastically from the time president Yoweri Museveni directed all non-essential businesses to close to encourage Ugandans to stay home and limit person to person contact. Although food stores and factories including grain millers remained operational in order to ensure that the people access what to eat, many of them are making losses with little or no sales.
Handing over the 200 bags of maize flour containing 25kgs each, Simon Nagiro, the spokesperson of the Mechanized Agro, said the food is meant to benefit the most vulnerable and those hit hardest by the Covid19 lockdown.
The political pressure group is due to donate food to the government, to aid communities that have been destabilised by the effects of Coronavirus Disease. Their efforts to distribute the food to the vulnerable families was earlier thwarted when the government indicated that the approach could facilitate the spread of the disease.
Government will distribute food Ugandans in areas only Wakiso and Kampala districts for now despite objection from Parliament on the methodology of distribution and question of beneficiaries.
The Kasese LC V vice chairperson Gideon Ntabose says that as local government they must be responsible in ensuring that the residents in the district survive through this period.
According to Rugunda, each vulnerable person will receive at least three Kilograms of beans, six kilograms of Maize flour and salt. He further revealed that lactating mothers and the sick will each get 2 kilograms of powdered milk and 2 kilograms of sugar for a month. It is not clear if the lactating mothers are part of the 1.5 million.
In an emergency meeting convened at Lopeduru Village in Kotido Municipal Council, the chairpersons said some of the most vulnerable members of their communities are severely starving and can’t even afford one meal a day.
State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru says that priority, in the distribution of relief food, was accorded to families that lost loved ones and those that sustained injuries in the tragedy. They received 300 kilograms of maize flour and 100 kilograms of maize flour respectively.
Most food insecure regions include Teso, Karamoja, Bukedi, the Cattle Corridor, Busoga, Lango, Acholi and parts of central Uganda, according to a statement presented by State Minister for Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru
The shipment contains thousands of mosquito nets, sleeping mats, plastic sheeting, kitchen sets and solar lights, which are set to be delivered to refugee settlement areas in Adjumani, Arua and Kiryandongo districts, as the newly opened Bidibidi settlement in Yumbe district.
