Vice President Unveils Government’s Measures to Address Nationwide Hunger Crisis
Her Honour, Vice President Mrs. W.K. Mutale-Nalumango, MP, addressed the pressing issue of the nationwide hunger crisis stemming from a prolonged drought declared a national disaster by the Republican President on February 29th, 2024.
Vice President Mutale-Nalumango revealed the extensive impact of the drought, affecting eighty-four districts across the southern half of the country and adversely impacting maize cultivation on nearly half of the planted hectares. With an estimated six million people affected by the drought, the government has identified the urgent need for relief efforts to address food insecurity.
The Vice President outlined several key measures being implemented by the government to alleviate the hunger situation and provide support to affected households. These measures include the activation of protection interventions, such as shock-responsive social cash transfers, targeting vulnerable households.
Additionally, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has been tasked with providing relief food to millions of food-insecure individuals.
Furthermore, humanitarian response clusters have been activated to identify short and medium-term interventions required to address the hunger crisis, based on existing contingency plans. The resulting drought response plan will serve as the basis for resource mobilization and implementing recovery interventions throughout the country.
Among the interventions highlighted by Vice President Mutale-Nalumango are engagements with commercial farmers to grow early maize varieties, restricting maize exports, and intensifying efforts to combat smuggling. The government is also prioritizing integrated pest management to control pests such as fall armyworms and reallocating resources towards humanitarian relief interventions.
Additionally, measures such as importing and rationing electricity, constructing and rehabilitating small dams, drilling boreholes, and expanding irrigation schemes are being implemented to mitigate the effects of the drought on agricultural production and ensure access to water for communities and livestock.
In conclusion, Vice President Mutale-Nalumango emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that life-saving interventions such as relief food and cash transfers are already underway.
She assured the National Assembly that the government is committed to providing support to affected communities and will continue to implement additional interventions as outlined in the ongoing drought response plan.
