The United States Government has provided food items worth $7 million (Approximately Ushs 14 billion) to the drought-hit Karamoja region to feed 266,000 people, a press statement from the American Embassy stated.

The contribution will be delivered through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the United Nations World Food Program’s (WFP) emergency appeal.

USAID/Uganda Mission Director David Eckerson said the $7 million contribution will allow the World Food Program to continue its distribution of food rations to the most vulnerable populations in Karamoja, and complements ongoing U.S. Government support for school meals for 97,500 children.

“This U.S. contribution supports the move away from global food distributions in Karamoja and towards food assistance that rebuilds the livelihoods of the people of Karamoja,” he noted.  

Mr. Eckerson expressed concern over recent attacks on NGO staff working in Karamoja and noted that the continued insecurity in the region greatly limits the possibility for international assistance.
 
The United States assistance supports the Karamoja Action Plan for Food Security, which is expected to assist 76% of the population of Karamoja.  The proposed activities are conceived within the framework of WFP Uganda’s country strategy for 2009 – 2014.  

The U.S. Government is the biggest contributor to WFP Uganda.  In 2009, it contributed approximately $33 million to WFP Uganda, supporting a wide range of operations including emergency food distribution in Karamoja, a school meals program, and agriculture and market support for small-scale farmers through the Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative. blog comments powered by Disqus

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