Through a multi-year commitment (2024-2027), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of US$19.6 million (EUR18 million) from the Government of Ireland to support the Government of Uganda to strengthen self-reliance initiatives for refugee communities and to enhance social protection and school feeding in the Karamoja sub-region.

"Support to Karamoja and refugee communities continues to be an integral part of our strategy in Uganda,” said H.E Kevin Colgan, Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to Uganda. “This contribution is part of Ireland’s commitment to keeping Karamoja children in school, improving food security and nutrition, strengthening people's livelihoods, and boosting the local economy. Reaching the furthest behind is core to our international development policy.”

In Karamoja, this contribution will enable WFP to procure locally-available maize, beans, and vegetable oil for school meals, benefiting 220,000 school children and smallholder farmers, and thereby stimulating local economies. In this hotspot of the climate crisis, WFP will also boost community resilience by restoring degraded land, promote crop diversification and improve post-harvest management. WFP will also support the Government to extend social protection programmes, particularly through the dissemination of early warning information via radio and other channels ahead of climate shocks such as droughts and floods.

In refugee hosting districts, over 50,000 refugees will be empowered to transition from humanitarian assistance to self-reliance by supporting them to invest in alternative livelihoods so they can sustain their families. WFP is collaborating with the Government of Uganda and other partners to promote income generation for refugees and host communities through farming and other livelihood opportunities to support refugee and host communities in surrounding areas to become food secure. This Self-Reliance Model is funded by the governments of Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom.

 “We are grateful for the contribution from the Government of Ireland supporting our efforts to encourage self-reliance and reduce the need for humanitarian assistance in Karamoja and in refugee settlements,“ said Abdirahman Meygag, WFP’s Country Director and Representative in Uganda. “By providing life-changing assistance, WFP is creating a pathway to a brighter future for Uganda.” 

Karamoja faces multiple development and socio-economic challenges. While Uganda is expecting improved crop production in 2024 due to increased rainfall, more than 400,000 people in Karamoja (30 per cent of the population) are projected to face crisis-levels of food insecurity (IPC3+) according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis (IPC). Similarly, WFP’s April 2024 Post-Distribution Monitoring indicates that 7 in 10 refugee households are still facing severe or moderate food insecurity levels.

Faced with limited resources and following extensive consultations with refugees and key stakeholders, WFP is prioritising the most vulnerable refugees for food assistance. While building pathways towards self-reliance, WFP continues to support close to 1.4 million out of 1.7 million refugees in Uganda with monthly food and cash assistance.

Ireland has previously contributed EUR 11.4 million to WFP’s operations in Uganda from 2020 to 2023.