Operational Updates
• Overview: In April 2019, WFP supported 1.3 million people in Uganda. WFP’s operations mainly focused on refugee support, with 1.1 million refugees receiving food and nutrition assistance. In Karamoja, WFP provided school meals to 118,000 school going children and implemented nutrition activities for 67,000 children aged 6-59 months and pregnant and nursing mothers. WFP also supported 26,000 smallholder farmers to access markets and participate in trainings.
• Looming drought: Below-average rainfall in northern and eastern Uganda in March and most of April have raised concern about the impact that the dry conditions may have on water availability, agricultural production, food security and nutrition. WFP is monitoring the evolution of the agricultural season closely - in partnership with the Government, FAO and UNICEF - and is on stand-by to support the Government’s response if a poor agricultural season materializes.
• Labour Intensive Public Works (LIPW): The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD) in collaboration with WFP conducted a mission in districts where labour intensive public works programmes are implemented in Karamoja and Northern Uganda. During the mission, WFP strengthened the capacity of national labour intensive public works committee members on social protection and resilience.
• Government-led home-grown school feeding programme (HGSF): WFP hosted a delegation of three State Ministers (Primary Education, Agriculture and Karamoja affairs) to show-case the impact of WFP school feeding programme in Karamoja. WFP advocated for an increased national leadership and for policy support towards the HGSF approach. HGSF is a school feeding approach where children are provided with food produced and purchased from local farmers.
• Ebola preparedness actions: As escalation of the Ebola outbreak continued in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), WFP continued its preparedness actions in Uganda. WFP officially handed over five ambulances to the Ministry of Health. WFP will support the fueling, servicing, and insurance of the ambulances as well as the per diem of the Red Cross drivers for the next three months. WFP also handed over Mpondwe border screening unit to Kasese District leadership. In addition, WFP erected four screening units and four tents at priority locations along the border.
• Outbreak of sickness among people in two districts in Karamoja: According to health centres records, three people died and 293 were admitted to health centres in Karamoja in March and April after eating Super Cereal, a fortified blended food distributed by WFP. The product is used by WFP and partners to prevent and treat malnutrition among pregnant and nursing mothers. Preliminary investigations have failed to conclusively find what caused the illness. To date, more than 2,400 food-related laboratory tests were conducted - including for mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides and microbial contaminants - but the root cause of the problem has not yet been established. As a precautionary measure, WFP has temporarily halted distribution of Super Cereal worldwide from one of its suppliers as tests continue to establish whether it is linked to the outbreak of illness in Karamoja. Communications campaigns continue to urge any people in Karamoja with remaining stocks to return them.