More than 40% of people are affected by hunger in this poor region. About 90,000 children and more than 9,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women suffer from malnutrition, according to the latest assessment by humanitarian agencies. Save The Children points to the emergency situation in Karamoja.
Covid, drought, locust invasions and attacks by armed gangs are the main causes of this food crisis. This has a particular consequence: families are forced to send their young children to school with their brothers and sisters so that they can eat at least one meal a day.
But the influx of these new students is draining resources, explains Victoria Kumukyaya, social protection officer at the NGO Save The Children.
” The attendance is much higher than what we are used to seeing in the school setting. We have seen more than 200 students come to school with their younger siblings in nearly 40 schools that we support. One of the things we’ve seen is the disruption of classes. Since the students come with their siblings, they spend more time taking care of them than attending the class.
Schools are overwhelmed with these extra students, and resources are limited. Already there are not enough teachers, and those who are there have to take care of these young children in order to allow their brothers and sisters to concentrate.
So it becomes a very big challenge for schools. The food crisis in Karamoja is a climate-related emergency. We have to deal with it now. If we do nothing, it is certain that we will witness an escalation, even a deterioration of the current situation. »