Uganda says 16 died of hunger in Karamoja amid drought; government begins food aid

The Ugandan government says at least 16 people have died from hunger in recent weeks in the north-eastern region of Karamoja due to a prolonged drought. The BBC reported that farmers in the area received little or no rain since April, the start of the planting season, and lost crops as a result.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja says thousands of families have been left without food because the dry spell destroyed crops.

Her office will seek cabinet approval on Monday to buy more supplies for affected areas. The government has started distributing emergency food aid. Large areas of maize, sorghum and soybeans have withered.

In 2022 more than 2,200 people died of starvation and related illnesses in north-east Uganda, according to a report by an official human rights body. The then-foreign minister Henry Okello Oryem called those who died of hunger "idiots" and argued that Uganda had favourable climate and fertile land so people should be able to grow food for themselves.