Attachments
Key messages
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WFP reached more than 1.8 million people in 2023, of these 1.4 million refugees received food assistance.
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More than 216,000 learners from 315 schools in Karamoja received hot school meals.
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WFP procured 75,000 MT of food for operations in the region from local food suppliers, injecting nearly USD 44 million into the local economy.
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More than 36,000 smallholder farmers in Karamoja supported to bulk and collectively sell their farm produce.
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Strengthened capacities in Anticipatory Actions by partnering with national actors.
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WFP, a partner of choice to the Government and partners: supporting humanitarian response through supply chain support.
Overview Section
In 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) in Uganda maintained a crucial partnership with the Government, actively supporting its endeavours to deliver Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). WFP's initiatives encompassed providing food and nutrition assistance to refugees and implementing nutrition interventions to tackle both the immediate effects and underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition. Additionally, WFP extended support to individuals facing food insecurity through income generation and skills training, alongside building assets to bolster their resilience and adaptability to climatic shocks like drought and flooding. Furthermore, WFP dedicated efforts to enhance the capacities of national and subnational institutions, including social protection systems, aiming to fortify their ability to manage food security programmes, and disaster preparedness and response measures.
Contributing to SDG 2, WFP collaborated with the Government and various partners to extend food and nutrition assistance to 1.8 million individuals. Despite the arrival of 98,842 new refugees from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo into Uganda, and an environment already challenged by diminished funding, WFP persevered in delivering food assistance to 1.36 million refugees, albeit with reduced rations.1 WFP increased the utilization of Cash-Based Transfers (CBT) from 57 percent in 2022 to 61 percent in 2023. This expansion involved a six percent rise in beneficiaries receiving digital assistance through cash accounts, with a pilot mobile money programme conducted in two refugee settlements.
In collaboration with UNHCR and the Government of Uganda, WFP implemented the third phase of the prioritization approach. This strategy focused on optimizing existing resources to target the most vulnerable refugees, who were classified into three vulnerability levels: the highly vulnerable, constituting 14 percent of the total, received a 60 percent ration; the moderately vulnerable, representing 82 percent, received a 30 percent ration; and the least vulnerable were moved off monthly food assistance.
WFP delivered food assistance to more than 17,000 vulnerable individuals affected by drought in the Karamoja sub-region. Furthermore, in the aftermath of floods impacting Kisoro district, WFP developed a flood recovery initiative, offering a one-time cash assistance to more than 17,000 people. This assistance aimed to address both the immediate needs of those affected by the floods and the associated longer-term food insecurity challenges.
Efforts to enhance productivity and boost incomes for smallholder farmers were reinforced in line with WFP’s commitment to achieving SDG target 2.3. WFP successfully extended its impact to more than 36,500 smallholder farmers through interventions that significantly contributed to income enhancement. This accomplishment was realized by facilitating smallholder farmers' access to markets via supported farmer organizations and groups across 10 districts. In total, 1,165 metric tons (MT) of food commodities, valued at nearly USD 500,000, were sold to various off takers, including processors, millers, traders, schools, and hospitals. This marked a notable 22 percent increase compared to 2022.