Katakwi an exception to improving food security

Relatively good security conditions through November allowed the distribution of food relief to some 474,000 vulnerable people in eight districts in Uganda, the UN food agency reported on Friday. Second seasonal rains continued through November in most of the programme areas - including Moyo, Adjumani, Gulu, Kitgum and Bundibugyo - which have supported the growth of vegetables and other fresh foods, the World Food Programme (WFP) stated in its latest emergency update. However, floods destroyed property, killed 19 people and affected several settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and surrounding villages near Bundibugyo, it added. Steady supplies of staples were currently assuring adequate food for households and national food security in Uganda, while the start of the second-season harvest (from December) would further augment crop supplies and household food stocks, the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net) reported last month. The only exception to this was in Katakwi District, eastern Uganda, which had had minimal cultivation for several crop seasons - largely because the insecurity caused by sporadic attacks by Karamojong warriors had hindered householders' access to land, the USAID- and WFP-supported network stated. At least 10,000 households (over 80,000 people) were displaced in Katakwi and were considered "moderately food insecure... with many IDPs unable to meet their daily food and nutritional requirements", FEWS Net stated. Kapelebyong and Usuk counties were the most affected, it said. The government has deployed additional security forces to Katakwi to deter attacks by Karamojong warriors - currently being engaged in a disarmament exercise - and reduce cattle rustling, but "the continued displacement of households, risk to food insecurity and lack of basic services suggests the IDPs will require assistance for the immediate future", it added. As for pastoralists, abundant and well-distributed rain was recorded in many parts of Uganda in November, and pastures and drinking water remain adequate for livestock access in the west and southwest (including Kabale, Mbarara, Ntungamo and Sembabule districts), according to FEWS Net. However, dry conditions in the Moroto, Kotido and Nakapiripirit areas (in the east and northeast) had led to diminishing pastures and water, propelling greater numbers of livestock to dry-grazing areas in these districts, it said. Increased movement of livestock out of the northeast could be expected with the deepening of the dry season, it added. Meanwhile, district officials and nongovernmental organisations in central, western and southwestern Uganda have noted that high moisture and humidity levels have caused mould, fungal infection and root rot in beans - leading to total crop losses in some areas, according to FEWS Net. Eastern and northern districts had reported less damage to pulses, but national bean production was not expected to exceed 10,000 mt, at least 30 percent down on normal, it said. The total population figure for Sudanese refugees and IDPs assisted by the main WFP emergency food programme in Uganda stands at about 550,000. The agency is also assisting some 19,000 refugees from Rwanda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in a separate programme, as well as school feeding, food-for-work schemes and specific nutritional interventions. In Moyo and Adjumani districts (northwestern Uganda), where there is a concentration of Sudanese refugees, the results of a nutrition survey conducted in October revealed that the rates for global and severe acute malnutrition had increased since the last surveys, WFP reported on Friday, 28 December. In addition, a high level of stunting (38 percent), as well as an increased prevalence of malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhoea among children, were reported, it said. A WFP-funded survey examining underlying causes of malnutrition commenced in November, and results are due this month, according to the agency. Meanwhile, 1,500 people recently arrived from Tanzania at the Nakivale settlement, southwestern Uganda [0.47 S 30.53 E], would also receive assistance once registered and officially declared refugees, WFP stated on Friday. The agency expects to experience a shortfall in pulses for its food assistance programmes in Uganda this month, before the arrival of the next consignment due in the country by March. Overall, it said, 11,130 mt of food was still required. "Additional cash resources are urgently required to avert pipeline shortages and purchase 4,000 mt of beans and maize locally, while market prices are low," it added.