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Uganda + 3 more

WFP Uganda Country Brief, August 2022

Attachments

In Numbers

8311 mt of food assistance distributed

USD 3.85 million in cash-based transfers

USD 72 million six months (September 2022 – February 2023) net funding requirements

1,652,891 people assisted in 2022

Operational Updates

Support to refugees

• In August 2022, WFP provided 1.3 million beneficiaries with food assistance, distributing 7,270 mt of in-kind food and USD 3.5 million of cash-based transfers (CBT).

• In mid-2022, routine nutrition mass screenings at Nyakabande Transit Centre indicated an increase in Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates over time exceeding the 15 percent threshold amidst aggravating factors. To prevent the further deterioration of the nutrition status among new arrivals, WFP continues to provide nutrition assistance through the Blanket supplementary feeding programme (BSFP). Over the month of August, there was a noted reduction in malnutrition levels.

• Phase II prioritization - which involves increasing in-kind rations from 40 percent to 60 percent ration for the most vulnerable households - continues to be implemented in the Southwest refugee settlements. The Prioritisation Core Group has approved a new structure for the appeals process, consisting of WFP and UNHCR staff. The new process will optimize the appeals process to enable timely feedback to the beneficiaries.

Scale-up of Cash-Based Transfers (CBT):

• The continuous scale-up of CBT is ongoing in all the 13 refugee settlements albeit on a lower scale as the transfer value is not able to meet the equivalent of the food basket due to global inflation and the increase in food prices.

• Regarding Digital Financial Inclusion, a pilot was successfully carried out with the Post Bank Agency Banking Solution to test the effectiveness of the upgraded Post Bank core banking system. The measured outcome was the ability of agents to efficiently support the households to cash-out their assistance instantly. The pilot was carried out with 200 households, each receiving Uganda Shillings 10,000 across three villages in Kyaka II Settlement. Upon completion of operational activities, distributions with the Post Bank Agency Banking solution will be executed in Kyaka II Settlement starting October 2022.

Karamoja Lean Season Response

• WFP continues to provide in-kind assistance under the Lean Season Response in Karamoja by implementing prevention of malnutrition activities − BSFP and the protective ration (PR) intervention. The BSFP is implemented in Kotido, Kaabong, and Nabilatuk districts with a modification targeting only children between the age 6-23 months.

• The protection ration intervention is being implemented in Amudat, Napak, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, and Nabilatuk districts targeting households enrolled in the malnutrition treatment programmes with the aim of cushioning households and ensuring children receive all the nutrients they need. Using the Cash Based Transfer, (with each household receiving USD 8), this intervention will be extended to households in the Abim, Karenga, and Nakapiripirit districts that had clients enrolled on treatment programmes.

Gender, Protection and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)

• In August 2022, the Isingiro Field Office organized a meeting to share findings on the assessment of barriers to women's economic empowerment (WEE) and digital financial inclusion (DFI) in Nakivale under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project. From the findings: o Because of men's greater mobility and limited care responsibilities, women and girls are perceived to have unequal access to economic opportunities compared to men. o The majority of women's roles in the household revolved around providing care rather than being paid, while the majority of men's roles were linked to income generation. o Men who had undertaken financial literacy training were supportive of women's economic empowerment, with older men being more supportive compared to younger men.

Strengthening national capacity for Emergency Preparedness and Response

• In August, the PRO-ACT project continued to publish Early Warning (EW) messages and advisories. District Disaster Management Committees (DDMCs) and Subcounty Disaster Management Committees (SDMCs) continued to hold monthly coordination meetings and collate information on the state of food security and update the drought bulletins.

• The PROACT continued to support the Karamoja Lean Season Response with the provision of cash-based transfers to affected communities. The PROACT project will utilise USD 635,955 of funding to provide food assistance through CBT to 164,000 people (27,000 households) for three months. The second cycle of distribution is underway.

Nutrition

• In August 2022, a total of 32,845 (22,532 children between the ages 6-59 months and 10,313 pregnant and lactating women were reached with specialised nutritious foods across the nine districts in the Karamoja subregion.

• Health outreaches were integrated into CBSFP activities with the goal of providing integrated health and nutrition services.
Complementary health services namely, deworming, antenatal care services, testing for HIV, and Vitamin A supplementation, were provided among others.