Uganda: UN Agency Resumes Food Distribution in Northeast

Text of report by Patrick Jaramogi entitled “30 people die of hunger in Karamoja” published by Ugandan newspaper The New Vision website on 1 June

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) resumed food distribution in Karamoja [northeastern Uganda] following the death of 30 people due to hunger.

WFP suspended its operations in the region following the killing of one of its drivers, Richard Achuka, in an ambush on Monday [28 May].

Disaster Preparedness State Minister Musa Ecweru yesterday said: “I flew to the region soon after the attack and the situation is pathetic. By Wednesday, 20 people had died due to hunger in Tewuso, while another 10 died in Nakapiripirit. People need food badly.”

He said the government had tried to contain the situation but was overwhelmed by the emergency and had to ask WFP to resume operations.

Ecweru described the murder as unfortunate, saying: “It is strange because the Karimojong do not usually attack UN vehicles.”

He said the police, UPDF [Uganda People's Defence Forces] and other security agencies would be deployed to monitor security in the area.

Addressing a press conference at the Media Centre yesterday, the WFP country representative, Tesema Negash, said they resumed operation after assurance from the government that security would be beefed up in the region. Tesema said they were feeding 550,000 Karimojong.”

Meanwhile, the UN Interim Humanitarian Coordinator has condemned the attack. A statement they issued appealed to the civil and traditional leadership to pursue justice against the perpetrators and called for adequate security for all humanitarian agencies in Karamoja.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.