Several Ugandans in the Karamoja and the cattle corridor areas of Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts as well as the areas of Teso, Bukedea, and some parts of the Busoga region are at the verge of starvation after climate changes affected their harvest.
On Tuesday, Parliament heard that several homes and gardens were destroyed by heavy rains in the Bugisu subregion and there were calls for the disaster management team to rush and help put a roof on people’s heads.
Also, Mary Karoro Okrut the minister for General duties in the office of the Prime Minister said that in her own backyard in Bushenyi, heavy rains destroyed a school, homes and banana plantations. She added that the whole country is experiencing disasters.
The minister however said the disaster management team is on ground to help. She asked MPs to tell their respective CAOs to write through the legislators to the Ministry of finance for more help to be realized.
More than 3.5 million people risk starvation if the OPM does not come up with measures immediately.
This comes after severe dry conditions at the start of the 2019 March-May season, preceded by the harsh dry season of January-February 2019 and poor October-December 2018 spots of rain, which have impacted planting and germination of crops in several areas of the country.
As if this was not enough, the heavy rains continue to devastate the population.
Now, Ofwono Opondo the government spokesperson says that the recurrent climatic shocks have undermined household resilience and as a result, urgent support is critically needed to support agricultural and pastoral livelihoods which are threatened by the already poor vegetation conditions.
