Warning of high child mortality rate in north

The deteriorating humanitarian situation in northern Uganda is placing children under the age of five years at a high risk of mortality, an international NGO has warned. According to a rapid nutritional assessment conducted by Action Against Hunger in Pabbo displaced people's camp, Gulu district, nearly 18 percent of children are at risk of dying before the age of five and about 57 percent surveyed are in a "precarious situation". Roger Persichino of Action Against Hunger said the assessment indicated a potential problem in the region, but it was necessary to "carry out further surveys to know if there is a real nutritional crisis". "We hope to obtain access to conduct further assessments," he said in a statement. According to the statement, the poor nutritional levels in northern Uganda could be attributed to the escalation of conflict and deterioration of security since June, when the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) stepped up attacks in the area, displacing thousands of civilians and sparking off a severe humanitarian situation in the region. The UN's World Food Programme, which has been distributing food in the region, last week warned that the humanitarian situation was getting worse in northern Uganda where the number of displaced people had increased to 800,000 from 520,000 in 2001. “This is the worst humanitarian crisis since the fighting began in northern Uganda more than 15 years ago,” Ken Noah Davies, WFP’s Country Director for Uganda, said in a statement. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which has been running therapeutic feeding centres in the north, said the situation was not likely to improve. Lena Schildt, who heads UNICEF's regional programme for the northern Uganda region, told IRIN that the food supplied by humanitarian agencies was not enough to cater for the minimum needs of the people, most of whom were now almost totally dependent on relief. "Harvest is out of question. They have suffered almost two seasons without proper harvest," Schildt said. "We will continue to care for the severely malnourished children. But the situation will not improve very quickly."