The government has earmarked 135 Billion Shillings to avert the hunger crisis in the Karamoja sub-region in the next three months.
The intervention was announced by the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja in Parliament during a plenary sitting on Tuesday. According to Nabbanja, the decision was passed by the Cabinet on Monday.
Nabbanja revealed that the funds will also cater to the purchase of seedlings for the planting season. Recently, the Government distributed over 200 metric tons of food supplies to the Karamojong in a bid to stabilize the region troubled by protracted insecurity.
The Napak District Woman Representative, Faith Nakut observed that while the government has over time intervened to save the population stricken by food scarcity, the food ratios being supplied are not reasonable to sustain the affected households even for a week.
Nakut emphasized that bad weather has continued to fail farmers worsening the food insecurity situation and threatening the lives and livelihoods of thousands of the population in the region.
Francis Adome, the Moroto Municipality MP said the proposal to provide food to starving Ugandans is not sustainable and very expensive and implored the Government to devise a participatory approach to address the food looming food crisis in the wake of escalating commodity prices in the country.
Oyam District Woman MP Santa Alum said the Lango sub-region has not been spared by the famine. She implored the OPM to supply the region with food to address the crisis in the short term.
Peter Mugema, the Iganga Municipality MP said famine is affecting people in his constituency too, citing that people are dying of starvation and that the government should upscale its interventions beyond Karamoja.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa tasked the Prime Minister to present a comprehensive statement on the Government’s strategy to resolve the food crisis not only in Karamoja but in the entire region.
