The Sudanese community in Uganda has donated food relief to about 650 families in the Karamoja sub-region to help address hunger caused by prolonged drought and poor harvests.
The relief consignment was flagged off in Kampala on Monday by the Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, Minister Esther Anyakun, under Nafeer Karamoja, an initiative led by members of the Sudanese community in Kampala as a gesture of gratitude to Uganda for hosting them.
Ramia Rahama, the team leader of Nafeer Karamoja, said the situation in Karamoja reflects the hardships many Sudanese people have experienced in their home country.
“The language and geography may be different, but the pain is the same,” she said.
She described Karamoja as a region grappling with prolonged drought, failed harvests and children struggling to access food, adding that the initiative seeks to ensure relief reaches families in urgent need.
“We want help to reach homes that need a meal today, not tomorrow,” Ms Rahama said.
However, she noted that providing emergency food relief alone would not address the underlying challenges facing the region.
“Relief alone is not enough,” she said, explaining that the Sudanese community’s experiences both in Sudan and Uganda had taught them that communities that depend entirely on external assistance remain vulnerable to future crises.
She said the initiative aims to evolve into a programme that empowers communities to become more self-reliant through food production, storage and sharing.
“We want communities that can rely more on themselves, that grow their own food, store it, share it and stand on their own feet, so that in the end no one is left in need,” she said.
In her remarks, Minister Anyakun said the government was pursuing long-term interventions to address the recurring drought and water challenges in Karamoja.
She urged the public not to focus only on the immediate effects of drought but also consider government efforts aimed at finding lasting solutions to the region’s development challenges.
“At this particular moment, there is a lot going on in government to see that we have permanent solutions in Karamoja in terms of drought issues,” she said.
Minister Anyakun said government programmes were targeting improved livelihoods through interventions such as the Karamoja Regional Development Programme (KRDP), particularly in addressing water shortages for production and irrigation.
She revealed that several dams had already been constructed, including an irrigation dam in the southern part of Karamoja, which she said would benefit more than 3,000 farmers.
Another dam is planned for Napak District, with Minister Anyakun saying President Museveni had already secured funding for the project from the UK government.
Under the KRDP, government is also planning to establish a bigger water collection facility in Kotido District.
“We are trying to see that we have solutions to issues of water for production and water for irrigation,” she said.
