• International aid organisation World Vision to begin food distribution in the coming days; • 457,269 people to receive 50,208 metric tonnes of food over the next year - valued at US$16.6 million

Kampala, Uganda (January 28, 2009) — As people in north-eastern Uganda continue to struggle with an extreme shortage of food following the third consecutive failure of crops, international aid organisation World Vision is about to begin food distributions to more than 450,000 people.

"We are very concerned about the state of children in north-eastern Uganda, especially those in the Karamoja region," says Rudo Kwaramba, National Director for World Vision Uganda.

"Mothers have been forced to travel extreme distances to find meagre work in exchange for some kind of food, leaving children behind who, in some cases, are fending for themselves. These children cannot wait for food prices to come down or for rainfall patterns to stabilise. They need support now."

An estimated 2.1 million people are in need of immediate food assistance in northern and north-eastern Uganda, including the districts of Kaabong, Kotido and Abim where World Vision will be starting distributions in February.

A rapid assessment by World Vision found that in some regions, two-thirds of families spent less on health care, education and agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertiliser, in order to pay for food.

"Children are being pulled from school, the sick are not being treated and parents are forced to beg just for something to feed their children with," continues Ms Kwaramba. "Even in Kampala, 400 kilometres away from the Karamoja region, we are finding Karamojong children on the streets trying to find their next meal."

In addition to distributing food, World Vision is calling on the Ugandan government to implement policies and strategies that improve household food security and resilience to drought, diseases and changes in food availability and prices.

Despite commitments by African Union member states in 2003 to spend 10 per cent of their budgets on supporting agricultural initiatives, most countries have still not reached even half of that goal. Uganda currently spends a mere 3.8 per cent of its national budget on agriculture - a sector that employs more than three quarters of the country's population.

To complement the food aid segment of its response, World Vision has secured funding to begin agriculture and water interventions. The organisation is urging the Ugandan government to fulfil its commitments to water-source development. This commitment, outlined in the goverrnment's Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda, is especailly important for pastoralist communities such as the Karamojong. Water scarcity compounds the already difficult situation for pastoralists grazing livestock across wide stretches of land.

"A government has the responsibility to support all communities to find positive coping mechanisms that are appropriate to their environment," says Ms. Kwaramba.

"Food aid at this point is a must. Without a broader strategy to address why food security issues exist, however, we risk relegating communities to cyclical dependencies on aid. It is not sustainable."

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For more information, or to arrange an interview with Rudo Kwaramba, please contact:

Aggrey Mugisha Communications Manager, World Vision Uganda +256 772 481 642 Aggrey_Mugisha@wvi.org

Marie Bettings Communications Manager, Africa Food Crisis +254 733 400 314 Marie_Bettings@wvi.org

Notes to Editors

• Communities across East Africa have been struggling with the effects of recurrent shocks in the form of erratic rainfall, drought and flood cycles and highly volatile food prices over the past year. More than 17 million people in the region are now estimated to be significantly food insecure. Resilience in these communities is being depleted and in areas such as Karamoja in north-eastern Uganda, where a majority of communities are pastoralist, each consecutive shock decreases the amount of livestock available for trade, sale or food, without any other available economic safety net to provide for children and their families.

• World Vision has worked in Uganda since 1986, conducting extensive community development programmes across the education, health, food security, advocacy and emergency relief sectors. World Vision donors worldwide support 135,000 children in Uganda. In 2008, World Vision Uganda reached more than a million people in more than 37 districts with programming valued at roughly US$60 million.

• World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Motivated by our Christian faith, we serve all people regardless of religion, race, gender or ethnicity. For more information, please visit www.wvi.org.