WORLD · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Uganda's Karamoja Region Faces Acute Food Insecurity and Malnutrition
WHY IT MATTERS
The severe food insecurity and malnutrition in Uganda's Karamoja region pose a significant threat to the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of people, particularly vulnerable children and pregnant women.
What happened
The Karamoja region in Uganda is experiencing severe food insecurity and malnutrition due to El Niño-related dry spells and rising food prices. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an estimated 673,000 people are facing acute food insecurity, with 118,000 in emergency conditions. Acute malnutrition has also worsened, affecting over 154,200 children and 13,900 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The situation is expected to persist, with 679,000 people projected to face acute food insecurity from November 2026 to February 2027. The El Niño-related hygiene and disease risks are likely to worsen malnutrition.
Two districts have been classified in critical conditions for acute malnutrition in both the current and projection periods. The region's food insecurity and malnutrition levels have not been this high since 2018.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Uganda (Karamoja): IPC Acute Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Snapshot | August 2026 - February 2027 (Published on 7 September 2026)
ReliefWeb / original provider · Integrated Food Security Phase Classification · ReliefWeb aggregation; original provider terms apply; link and attribution to the named source required
CORRECTIONS & UPDATES
- Revision 1 · Initial ingestion · Sep 9, 2026, 6:00 AM
- Revision 2 · Source update detected · Sep 9, 2026, 6:00 AM