Uganda: Child Malnutrition on the Rise as Conditions Worsen in Karamoja

KAMPALA (September 10, 2026) – An increasing number of children in the Karamoja region of Uganda are arriving at health clinics malnourished, according to Save the Children staff, as a global hunger monitor predicts higher malnutrition in the region over the next few months.

New figures from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), predict that the number of children under five experiencing acute malnutrition in Karamoja will reach 154,200 between November 2026 and February 2027 – a 25% increase from the 122,100 between July and October 2026.

Martha Ddambya, Save the Children’s Acting Country Director in Uganda, said:  

"Our teams in Karamoja are seeing the impact of this crisis every day. Families tell us they have less food to put on the table, harvests have been poor, and more children are arriving at health facilities malnourished and in need of urgent support. For parents, there is nothing more frightening than watching a child go hungry and not knowing where the next meal will come from. The sharp rise in child malnutrition should be a warning that the situation is deteriorating and that thousands more children are at risk unless action is taken now.  

"Save the Children is working, in coordination with the Government of Uganda, alongside communities in Karamoja to help children access treatment, improve nutrition, and support families to grow food and earn an income, but the scale of need is growing. There is critical need for multisectoral support in anticipation of and response to the crisis affecting the Karamoja region and surrounding areas.  

Drought-prone parts of Uganda and East Africa are feeling the effects of the super El Niño, with below-average rainfall contributing to lower harvests, reduced agricultural output, and localized crop failures, and plant stress.  

"We urgently need increased funding to reach vulnerable children before conditions worsen further, and we need a stronger response to the impacts of El Niño and recurring drought. Investing now will save lives, protect children's health, and help families withstand the climate shocks that are becoming an increasingly harsh reality across the region," Ddambaya said.

The Karamoja region has a long history of severe droughts and deadly famines driven by a hot, dry climate, civil unrest, and repeated crop failures. A devastating famine in 1980, which was triggered by a combination of extreme drought and civil unrest, caused up to  50,000 deaths, killing about 21% of the population in Karamoja.  

Decades later, reports from the UN's Africa Renewal publication demonstrate that the area remains highly vulnerable, with climate change, poor infrastructure, and ongoing insecurity routinely pushing hundreds of thousands back into critical food crises.

Save the Children supports children and families across Karamoja to access nutritious food and build more secure futures. Working alongside local communities and the government of Uganda, the organization is responding to the crisis by supporting early identification and referral of cases of malnutrition, capacity strengthening for the health workers in the designated treatment centers and empowering communities to treat malnutrition in children using locally available resources.

Save the Children has been operating in Uganda since 1959 and works across the country to ensure children can survive, learn and be protected, with programs focused on education, child protection, health and nutrition, child rights governance, and humanitarian response.  

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