KAMPALA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) is seeking 15.3 million U.S. dollars to feed more than 1.4 million refugees in Uganda. They are facing acute food insecurity amid severe cuts in food aid and COVID-19 restrictions.
The UN's food aid agency in a statement on Tuesday said the funds would be used to provide full food rations for the refugees for the next three month, starting this month till end of the year.
More than 91,000 refugees living in 13 refugee settlements across Uganda are experiencing extreme levels of hunger, and 400,000 are considered to be at crisis hunger levels with 135,130 children being acutely malnourished and in urgent need of treatment, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released last week.
"WFP is working continuously with all of the stakeholders, namely UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), government, development partners and international and national NGOs to highlight the plight of the refugees, to seek more resources to be able to continue providing WFP's food assistance even in the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic," said El-Khidir Daloum, WFP Uganda Country Director.
"To be able to provide full rations for refugees in the settlements until the end of 2020, WFP needs nearly 15.3 million dollars immediately," he said.
He warned that the food ration and cash transfer cuts for refugees in the east African country will remain in place until the food agency secures sufficient funding.
WFP in April announced a 30 percent reduction in food rations and cash transfers to more than 1.4 million vulnerable refugees who have fled into the country from neighboring countries.
According to the IPC, the situation will become worse if food and cash transfers are further cut to the refugees, who have fled violence mainly from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. Enditem
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