The Kabarole Research and Resource Centre-Uganda (KRC-Uganda), with funding from Healthy Food Africa and Hivos, in collaboration with the Food Rights Alliance (FRA), organized a two-day consultative workshop focused on food security and nutrition prioritization within Uganda’s National Development Plan (NDP) IV. This workshop took place in Fort Portal Tourism City on September 19th and 20th and attracted technical leaders and representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs) across Fort Portal City, Kabarole, Kyenjojo, Bunyangabu, and the refugee-hosting districts of Kamwenge and Kyegegwa.
The objectives of the consultative workshop included:
1. Assess the implementation of nutrition interventions through district development plans aligned with NDP III.
2. Establish local contexts for nutrition actions proposed in the National CSO memorandum on food security and nutrition in NDP IV.
3. Develop key nutrition-related actions and interventions for prioritization in district development plans, in alignment with NDP IV.
It is important to note that by the end of the financial year 2024/2025, both Uganda’s Third National Development Plan (NDP III) 2020/21 – 2024/25 and the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) II 2020/21 – 2024/25 will conclude, prompting the development of NDP IV and UNAP III. However, the food and nutrition security situation in Uganda remains challenging. According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics in 2022 and published in November 2023, 26% of Ugandan children aged 6-59 months are stunted. This stunting rate is particularly high among children from the poorest households at 29%, followed by 25% in poorer households, 28% in middle-income households, 23% in richer households, and 18% in the wealthiest households. Additionally, 3% of children are wasted, 10% are underweight, and 3% are overweight. Alarmingly, only 1 in 10 children aged 6-23 months meet the recommended dietary intake by consuming at least 5 of the 8 essential food groups. Furthermore, merely 7% of children had a minimum acceptable diet 24 hours before the survey.
In the Tooro region, the stunting rate among children reaches 38.7%, with only Kigezi (41.5%) and Karamoja (43.9%) exhibiting higher rates. This is particularly ironic, as the Tooro region is known as a food basket of the country, recognized for its production of matooke (plantain), maize, and other cereals. Despite this abundance, the region grapples with a high stunting rate, highlighting a contradiction between food production and nutritional outcomes. Given Tooro’s fertile soils and favorable climate for horticulture and food crop production, the situation is perplexing. This disconnect suggests that consumption patterns and behaviors require urgent attention. Stakeholders need to examine the root causes of these challenges and develop effective policy frameworks to improve food and nutritional security, not only for the region but for the entire country as Uganda formulates its NDP IV.
Recognizing the significance of a regional contextual analysis, stakeholders in food and nutritional security can identify, internalize, and critically assess the challenges faced, providing informed policy recommendations to the National Planning Authority (NPA). This ensures that sustainable solutions are addressed to the regional and national crises surrounding food and nutritional security. The two-day intensive reflection led to the identification of key regional priorities for the Tooro region, focusing on humanizing nutrition, urban food systems, climate-smart agricultural technologies, school nutrition programs, and the integration of media and gender into nutrition and food systems programming. These priorities will inform our regional position paper to the National Planning Authority and other stakeholders, as we actively contribute to the development of NDP IV.
By Eric Oteba,
Food Systems and Nutrition Program Manager
KRC-Uganda