Kitgum District has recorded a 4.5 per cent global acute malnutrition rate following a district-wide screening of children under five, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers amid prolonged food shortages and the effects of drought.
The screening, conducted across all sub-counties, town councils and divisions between January and July 2026, reached 18,836 people, according to Kitgum District Health Officer Dr Henry Otto. Of those screened, 18,028 were found to be within the normal nutritional range, while 146 had severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 662 had moderate acute malnutrition (MAM).
Dr Otto said the exercise was expanded to cover the entire district after an earlier screening in Chua East, particularly Namukora and Orom sub-counties, found that 23 per cent of the children screened were malnourished.
“We now said, why don’t we do it for the whole district, and get to know that, because without proper statistics, you cannot plan ahead of time,” Dr Otto said.
The wider screening was conducted with support from the World Food Programme (WFP), following a request made through regional nutritionists, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Gulu Regional Referral Hospital.
Dr Otto said the exercise was also intended to generate baseline information following reports of hunger-related deaths in Karamoja and the worsening food situation in parts of northern Uganda, including Kitgum and neighbouring Agago District.
He said all patients identified with severe acute malnutrition had been referred to health facilities for treatment, while those with moderate acute malnutrition were being provided with ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF), alongside nutrition education and counselling.
The district currently has adequate supplies of therapeutic foods at Health Centre IIIs and some Health Centre IIs, with supplies being redistributed between facilities where demand is higher.
“Where the prevalence would be high, we also do what we call redistribution. We pick from one facility and take to the other one so that we can meet the needs,” Dr Otto said.
However, he warned that continued food shortages could increase pressure on nutrition services and therapeutic food supplies, particularly if the drought persists.
According to the district screening data, the highest global acute malnutrition rate was recorded in Greater Orom at 10.6 per cent, followed by Greater Omiya Anyima at 5.8 per cent, Greater Mucwini at 5.4 per cent and Lagoro at 5.3 per cent.
Dr Otto said the district is using the findings to determine the quantities of therapeutic foods and formula feeds required to manage malnutrition cases.
He also expressed concern about malnutrition among breastfeeding mothers, saying the issue requires greater attention because the nutritional status of mothers directly affects their children.
The district is now calling for a multi-sectoral response involving the health, production and community development departments to address the underlying causes of food insecurity.
Dr Otto attributed the worsening nutrition situation partly to drought, which has destroyed crops and depleted household food stocks. He urged households to preserve whatever food they manage to produce during the next planting season instead of selling all their harvests. “The little that we can produce, let’s protect. Let’s protect, because the journey from this season to the next season is very long,” Dr Otto said.
He said the district intends to continue working with development partners, including Loved One International, to support children with severe malnutrition who require specialised care. “Our ultimate goal is that we should work with other sectors like production and community, so that we try our best to enhance food security,” he said.
The district says the screening data will also help authorities and development partners identify areas with the greatest nutrition needs and target interventions before the situation worsens. For families affected by the drought, however, the food crisis is already having a direct impact on household diets.
Grace Adoch, a mother of five from Kempolo Village in Mucwini East Sub County, said the destruction of crops by drought has left her household struggling to secure enough food.
“We planted hoping that we would harvest enough food for the family, but the crops dried in the garden before we could get anything. Now we are worried about what we shall eat in the coming months because the little food we had is already running out,” Adoch said.
She said the food shortage has made it increasingly difficult for mothers to provide balanced meals for their children. “Sometimes we have to reduce the number of meals we take in a day because there is not enough food. As a mother, it is painful when you see your children asking for food and you have nothing to give them,” she said.
Jackline Aciro, another mother from the same village, said the prolonged drought destroyed much of the food she had expected to rely on for her household. Aciro warned that continued food shortages could worsen malnutrition among children, particularly in households without alternative sources of income. “If families cannot produce enough food, children and mothers are the ones who suffer most,” she said.
