Ireland And WFP Renew Partnership To Support Self-Reliance For Refugees and Boost Food Security In Karamoja

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.

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.