Uganda and Child Hunger

Africa has the fastest growing hungry population and currently stands at 250 million based on a report made by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Many are undernourished, including children, and malnutrition is at an all-time high.
In the East African country of Uganda, there’s widespread poverty along with malnutrition, lack of food, clean water and basic necessities with over 110.000 children dying from extreme hunter.
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CLIMATE REFUGEES
Uganda has a large refugee population, given cross border migrations regularly happen, with many of the refugees being children. Refugees and different cultural groups are granted a piece of land instead of being placed in refugee camps, and they also have free access to education and healthcare. These refugees mainly arrive from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, and a significant factor that made them flee their homes for a new life in Uganda is climate change.
Climate change poses one of the biggest challenges for Uganda to realize its full development potential, as it brought about longer drought periods, which impact farmers. The larger issue presented by the ever-growing refugee communities in Uganda is the limited resources and funds for basic needs caused by their arrival, which leads to widespread starvation and malnutrition in the country, including in children. Extreme weather changes and long walks can also cause illnesses and even deaths before these refugee groups arrive in Uganda.
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CHILDREN AND MALNUTRITION
Despite an increase in food production, Uganda has a high rate of malnutrition, and many communities and households do not have access to food. The Office of the Prime Minister in Uganda writes on their publicly distributed Agriculture and Nutrition Fact Sheet that almost one-third of Ugandan children under 5 suffer from malnutrition. Malnourished children are at greater risk of infection like diarrhea and pneumonia and can also develop chronic diseases like diabetes and heart diseases in their adult years.
With a majority of Ugandan locals depending on agriculture, a productive workforce is needed in order to grow the country’s agricultural productivity. But lack of proper growth in children prevents them from becoming effective and productive labor forces in the future.
One solution is to improve nutrition, which can increase access and availability of food so the children of Uganda can have proper care and a healthy growth. Investing in technology and training for women workers in the agriculture industry on a household level can help them navigate different roles, including caring for their children.
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The Pain of Child Poverty in Uganda - A UNICEF Uganda Short Film
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Photo: Oxfam International (above)