The Government has allocated UGX 50 billion from the Contingency Fund to support emergency response efforts, including food distribution to the Karamoja sub-region and neighbouring districts, as prolonged dry conditions continue to threaten lives and livelihoods.
Speaking to journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Tuesday, the Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Hon. Justine Lumumba Kasule, said the intervention will be coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister(OPM) in partnership with the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
According to the minister, the emergency response follows the continued El Niño conditions over the Equatorial, Central, and Eastern Pacific Ocean, which have contributed to rising temperatures expected to intensify further this month.
“The most affected areas are Karamoja and neighbouring districts. The government has organized food items for distribution by the Office of the Prime Minister, together with the UPDF,” she said.
Hon. Kasule warned that the extreme heat is expected to have far-reaching effects on agriculture, food security, water resources, the environment, and public health. She noted that communities could experience an increase in heat-related illnesses, waterborne diseases, poor nutrition, food insecurity, conflicts over scarce resources such as water and pasture, migration, reduced household incomes, and rising food prices caused by food shortages.
She urged the public to adopt responsible water management practices by using available water efficiently for both domestic and agricultural purposes. The minister also encouraged farmers with access to water sources to embrace supplementary irrigation, while advising communities to make efficient use of the available food supplies.
The government’s emergency intervention comes just a week after the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister,Mr. Alex Kakooza, confirmed that at least 16 people had died from causes linked to food shortages in the Karamoja sub-region. The deaths have been attributed to prolonged dry conditions that resulted in widespread crop failure and severe food shortages.
