Uganda

Stable But Poor

With improved security, Uganda is a relatively stable country in East Africa that takes in over a million refugees from its neighbors. However, poverty and food insecurity are still widespread.
WFP/Hugh Rutherford

Secure from Conflict, Insecure from Hunger

Uganda’s population has increased by nearly 15 million between 2002 and 2018. The country currently hosts the largest refugee caseload on the continent with more than 1.27 million refugees living in and around 10 rural settlements and urban areas. The country has received more than 1 million refugees from from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo since July 2016.

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Schoolkids line up in front of a teacher sitting in a chair with a clipboard. WFP/Hugh Rutherford
Abeer sits wearing a blue and white plaid dress alongside her two grandchildren in a tent filled with belongings of families who fled their homes in Pajok, South Sudan WFP/James Akena

Although per capita income growth stands at about 2 percent, poverty is still widespread with more than 19 percent of the population living below the national poverty line.

The Karamoja subregion is Uganda’s poorest, with chronic food insecurity, poor access to basic social services such as education and health, environmental degradation, erratic rainfall and recurrent droughts. Despite improved security in the region, a combination of these factors has undermined the capacity of households to meet their basic nutritional needs and has led to high rates of stunting among children under five at 35 percent.

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WFP’s Work in Uganda

Uganda, Oruchinga Refugee Settlement, 28 August 2020

WFP in Uganda runs nutrition programs aimed at addressing malnutrition. These are preventive nutrition programs and treatment programs. The preventive programs support the government run Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) program. WFP provides nutrition supplements as specialized nutritious foods for children under 2 years and for mothers who are pregnant or breastfeeding. For the treatment programme, WFP provides food to treat malnutrition in children under 5 years and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. 
 
For children to qualify, 2 types of measurements are conducted;
1. Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) for both children 6 to 59 month and mothers,
2. Weight for Height/Length (WHZ) only for children 6 to 59 months.
 
with Covid-19 revised measurement practices have been emplaced and WHZ measurement was suspended because it takes place with close contact, all screening criteria has switched to the revised MUAC only. 
 
In the photo: Daphine 26 is a mother of 2, her youngest daughter is malnourished. Her child was screened using MUAC and found to be malnourished. Daphine received support from the Village Health Team and the child was immediately enrolled for treatment in the closest health facility. She is now happy that her child is recovering. Daphine also participated to the demonstration on how to undertake the MUAC measurement at home in order to monitor her daughter’s progress.. 

Photo: WFP/Hugh Rutherford
Nutrition
To prevent further stunting and micronutrient deficiencies among children, WFP is providing targeted food assistance to 26,000 mothers and children in the first 1,000 days of life, as well as treatment for moderate acute malnutrition among children under age five.
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Uganda, Kalotom Primary School, Ngoleriet sub-county, Napak District, 10 April 2018 

School children in areas where food security, nutrition and education indicators are low receive one nutritious meal per day from WFP or the Government. WFP also works with the ministries of education, agriculture and finance to establish a national school feeding policy and a sustainable school meals programme which includes the purchase of ingredients from local smallholder farmers.

In the Photo: David Cosmas Lotukei (left) and Eric Ilukol (right).

DAVID COSMAS LOTUKEI
Age:  9 years. 
Class: He is in Primary Three at Kalotom Primary School in Ngoleriet sub-county, Napak district. 
Home:  He lives with both his parents, Andrew Longoli, his father works as an assistant account while his mother, Christine Nalem is a peasant. He has two sisters; Vanessa Ojawo and Vivinne Akol and a brother John Onyang.  The family lives in a village called Matany in Napak district. 
Favourites: He likes playing football with his friends at school.
His future:  He desires to become an engineer.
If he had a superpower: “I would make very fast and strong cars”.
Advice to children: “Help your families and villages by doing chores like sweeping the compound”.


ERIC ILUKOL
Age:  12 years. 
Class: He is in Primary Three at Kalotom Primary School in Ngoleriet sub-county, Napak district. 
Home:  Eric stays with both his parents in Lorengechora village in Napak district. His father, Simon Cybong Ilukol is a health worker at Iriiri Health Centre III in Napak while his mother, Joyce Akol is a peasant. He has three sisters; Grace Nakuwari, Georgina Nakong and Viola Nakuwari, and a brother, Owen Ilukol.
Favourites: He likes playing football and participating in athletic at his school.  His favourite food is rice and meat.  
His future:  He wants to become a Preacher in the Catholic Church.
If he had a superpower: “I would promote good hygiene and sanitation in homes”.
Advice to children: “Respect elders in the village”.

Photo: WFP/Davinah Nabirye
School Meals
WFP provides school meals to increase enrollment and attendance. Some schools also implement a homegrown approach, utilizing fresh and local ingredients sourced from local parents and farmers.
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Two women sort through a pile of corn.
Small-Scale Farming
WFP supports 125,000 small-scale farmers to reduce post-harvest loss and improve household income, leveraging infrastructure and skills previously developed to enhance productivity, food quality and market access.
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South Sudanese refugees in Ngomoromo.
Emergency Relief
WFP works to ensure refugees and vulnerable groups here have access to food to meet their immediate needs and enable participation in self-reliance building programs.
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