Food Assistance Fact Sheet - Uganda

April 25, 2018

Situation 

• Uganda hosts the largest population of refugees and asylum-seekers in Africa. As of March 2018, approximately 1.4 million refugees and asylum-seekers had sought shelter in Uganda, including more than 1 million South Sudanese and nearly 277,000 Congolese. An estimated 60 percent of these refugees are younger than 18 years of age.
• To date in 2018, about 17,000 refugees from South Sudan and 67,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have arrived in Uganda, according to the UN. Following an escalation of intercommunal violence in DRC’s Ituri Province, the influx of Congolese refugees has increased substantially. In the absence of food assistance, most refugees in Uganda would face Crisis (IPC 3) levels of acute food insecurity through September, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reports.*
• Abundant rainfall in early 2018 has improved pasture conditions and livestock production in Uganda, according to FEWS NET. In addition, staple food prices are near normal, facilitating access to food in markets. FEWS NET anticipates average to above-average harvests for the upcoming agricultural season. Most Ugandan households will be able to meet their basic food needs, facing Minimal (IPC 1) food insecurity through September. However, Stressed (IPC 2) levels of food insecurity will persist in parts of Uganda’s Karamoja sub-region during the same period, since many households there have consumed their food stocks and depend on market purchases to meet their daily requirements. Following the mid-2018 harvest, food security conditions in some Karamojan districts will recover and reach Minimal food insecurity. 

* The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a standardized tool that aims to classify the severity and magnitude of food insecurity. The IPC scale, which is comparable across countries, ranges from Minimal—IPC 1—to Famine—IPC 5. 

Response 

• With USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) support, the UN World Food Program (WFP) distributes emergency food assistance to approximately 1.2 million refugees and asylum-seekers in northern and southwestern Uganda. FFP’s contributions to WFP, which include both U.S. in-kind food and locally and regionally purchased food, provide vulnerable families with enough to eat.

• In collaboration with Catholic Relief Services and Mercy Corps, FFP assists food-insecure Ugandans through multi-year development activities in Karamoja. FFP also partners with the AVSI Foundation to conduct a graduation activity reaching refugees and host community members in the southwestern district of Kamwenge. These interventions target over 700,000 individuals and aim to increase access to food, strengthen governance and gender equity, improve the nutritional status of children and pregnant and lactating women, and reduce the incidence of conflict through a variety of activities that support self-reliance and resilience.

Food for Peace Contributions

Total Contributions:

* Metric tonnage does not reflect funding for vouchers or cash transfers.

Country Specific Guidance

• Uganda Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2017 - 2021

• Fiscal Year 2017 Uganda Country Specific Information 

• Fiscal Year 2017 Uganda Graduation Pilot Country Specific Information 

• FEWS NET Uganda Staple Food Market Fundamentals January 2017

• FANTA Food Security Desk Review for Karamoja, Uganda, 2017

• Climate Risk Screening - Uganda Karamoja January 2017

• Horn of Africa Resilience Network Regional Resilience Framework 2.0 - November 2016

• Opportunities to Provide Refugees and Ugandans with Alternative Livelihood Activities in Uganda's Kamwenge District, December 2016 

• FEWS NET Karamoja, Uganda Enhanced Market Analysis 2016

Related Resources

• Feed the Future Initiatives in Uganda
• Innovation Comes to Uganda Refugee Settlements
• Emergency Food Rations Save Lives of Congolese Refugees
• Raising Goats (and Confidence) in Uganda