NEWS: Teso leaders ask government for more food relief

Teso leaders ask government for more food relief


Leaders in Teso sub-region, which is currently experiencing famine, have appealed for more food aid as hunger stalks more people.

During celebrations to mark the World Population Day over the weekend in Katakwi, one of the districts worst-hit by the famine, the district chairperson, Mr Robert Ekongot, said the situation was not getting any better. “What we need at this material point in time is more emergency food relief to save the population from hunger,” he said.

According to Mr Ekongot, the food insecurity in the region has largely been a result of external factors and not laziness as has been indicated by some leaders.

Although the government has responded by allocating Shs20 billion to buy relief food, it says it will need up to Shs170 billion to feed the most vulnerable people.

Mr Ekongot said the government should instead invest in long term solutions to address the situation including setting up irrigation schemes that will improve agricultural production even in times of drought.

The World Population Day was marked under the theme, “Empowering Communities to Overcome the Challenges of Poverty.’’ The acting Director of the Population Secretariat, Mr Charles Zirarema, said the celebrations were taken to Katakwi District to raise awareness about poverty that is rife in Teso region.

On Monday, Amuria District chairperson Julius Ochen told Daily Monitor that the situation was still grim as food aid that was delivered has not reached all sub-counties. As a result, he said, most families had resorted to eating wild leaves which are also posing a health threat.

“We visited Ajel village in Acowa Sub-county where we found some families had developed running stomachs after eating some wild leaves,” Mr Ochen said. He said children and women are particularly more vulnerable to the famine which has so far claimed 12 lives in the region since May.

According to Mr Ochen, the 200 bags of maize grain given to each sub-county is not enough to meet the food needs of the people. “This food aid can only last a few days before it gets finished. The government needs to come up with a way of increasing the food ration given to the residents,” he said.