Editorial
At least 18 people have died from hunger in Kotido since June, according to a recently released report on the worsening food crisis in Uganda’s Karamoja sub-region.
The dry spell, which began in March right after the expected rains, has destroyed over five thousand hectares of crops worth an estimated 200 billion shillings.
Some families are said to be surviving on beer remnants, while children have turned to gold mining and quarrying to earn money for food.
The report further indicates that this is not new and that Karamoja has faced repeated hunger crises since the 1990s, with over 2,100 drought-related deaths recorded in 2022.
A recent assessment found up to 30% of the region faced acute food insecurity in 202 and the crisis was foreseen.
Reportedly, government weather agencies had predicted a prolonged El Niño-driven dry spell, warning it would also hit food-basket districts in the southwest, central, and east including Isingiro, where maize, bean, and banana crops have withered.
Agnes Kirabo, the Executive Director of the Food Rights Alliance, called it a governance crisis, not a climate one. She said Karamoja has enough water sources to be self-sufficient, but lacks the political will to invest in infrastructure and treat the right to food as non-negotiable.
The situation is worsened by rising food prices , with posho and rice both becoming less affordable nationwide.
Civil society groups are have urged government to release emergency relief funds, invest in water infrastructure, and fast-track the National Food and Nutrition Bill.