Aid community still needs US$ 203 million for humanitarian action in Uganda

(Kampala: 16 July 2008): Six months into 2008, the humanitarian community still requires US$ 203 million for its planned humanitarian action in Uganda to meet critical needs among displaced and formerly displaced people in northern Uganda and vulnerable communities in Karamoja and elsewhere in the country.

'In light of the continuing transition from a humanitarian to a recovery footing in northern Uganda and the steady slide toward an emergency food security situation in Karamoja, the humanitarian community has made an effort to streamline its work to support the achievement of durable solutions for the displaced of northern Uganda, strengthen its response to critical needs - particularly in Karamoja - and increase disaster preparedness and response,' said United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Théophane Nikyema.

The improved security environment in northern Uganda has led to significant population movements, with the result that the return process has officially concluded in the Lango sub-region, while roughly half of the originally displaced population in Acholi is now residing in parishes of origin. Yet, returning populations in IDP-hosting districts face considerable challenges in adapting to life outside the camps, given the gaps in basic services and infrastructure related to education, health, water and sanitation in return areas. Such gaps increasingly expose the population to new risks, such as the outbreak of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) which currently affects 13 sub-counties in Kitgum district and has spread to the neighbouring districts of Gulu, Pader and Yumbe.

In Karamoja, a prolonged dry spell for the third consecutive year has delayed the single cropping season, even as the region experiences a shortage of cereal seeds for planting in the event that rainfall increases. Additionally, the toll of livestock diseases continues to grow, with its attendant impacts on household livelihoods and access to food. The region is quickly approaching a worst-case food security scenario in which nearly three-fourths of the population may require general food distribution through the next harvest, expected in September 2008, at the earliest.

Through the mid-year review process, the aid agencies operating in Uganda have worked to sharpen their humanitarian focus in northern Uganda and augment their capacity to prepare and respond in Karamoja. In this regard, all projects included in the revised CAP have been prioritised on a three-tier system that indicates short-term, high-impact projects, medium-term projects, and long-term (recovery) projects.

The MYR of the Uganda CAP 2008 is part of a global process by which all humanitarian appeals are reviewed at the mid-term point. The global launch, under the aegis of United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes, took place late on Wednesday in New York. Globally, US$ 3.4 billion is still needed to respond to crises about the world.