Karamoja drought alert

The Action by Churches Together network (ACT) on Friday issued a drought emergency alert for Uganda's northeastern Karamoja district. Some 250,000 people are affected by the drought, ACT said in a statement. "It is estimated that only 10 percent of the last year's harvest will be obtained this year," ACT said. An analysis of marketing data collected by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a member of ACT, revealed a rise in cereal prices by almost 100 percent in the last six weeks. In some trading centres, field staff report that cereals are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain as traders resort to hoarding "with the view of making inflated profits as prices rise". "With the expected crop failure or poor harvest, cereal prices are expected to rise until this time next year or until such a time that food relief is distributed," ACT said. Reports from the districts also indicate an increased movement of households from the drought-stricken areas to Moroto town in search of casual labour. "The majority of people facing food shortages are the vulnerable groups and this includes women, children, the elderly, the disabled and the poor," ACT added. It further said that discussions between the church organisations and WFP noted that food stocks in the country were low thus making it difficult to supply drought relief before the early part of next year at the earliest. "By that time, the situation will be terrible as many will be unable to purchase food for their families," the statement warned.