One in three Ugandan households skipped food for a whole day (24 hours) in the last three months because they couldn’t afford it, says a report. This is the Twaweza Uganda report, which was launched yesterday morning at Hotel Africana. The report shows that food insecurity continues to prevail in the country, with 37% Ugandans in the previous three months going to bed hungry.
On the positive side, however, the report shows that the survey that was carried among 1905 respondents revealed that the number of Ugandans who went without eating for a whole day because of lack of money or resources reduced from 49% in 2017 to 37% in 2018. The number of Ugandans that were hungry but did not eat because there was not enough money or other resources also went down from 67% in 2017 to 50% in 2018.
The Ugandans that ran out of food because of lack of money or other resources went from 69% in 2017 to 53% in 2018. It continues to indicate that the ones that had to skip a meal because there was not enough money or other resources went from 75% in 2017 to 61% in 2018. As regards to those who ate less than they should have eaten because of lack of money or resources, the figure went down from 77% in 2017 to 62% in 2018 and those who were worried they would run out of food because of lack of money went from 85% in 2017 to 75% in 2018.
The report also says that food constraints differ across the population, with those in rural areas more likely to face the constraints than those in urban areas. Similarly, the survey suggests that households where the main source of income is casual employment struggle the most, followed by those in crop farming.
During the Sauti Za Wananchi launch program, the moderators who included Mondo Kyateka (Ag. Commissioner Youth and Child Affairs, Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development), Agnes Kirabo (Executive Director Food Rights Alliance) and RamathanGgobi (Policy Analyst and Political Economist ,MUBS) presented the way forward and urged the government to revamp the functionality of the market, restructure the system implying that the chiefs were more effective than the local council that looks forward to the next election, the government needs a mind shift.
