Lamwo faces high malnutrition cases, looming food insecurity

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LAMWO - Lamwo district is grappling with high cases of malnutrition, a survey says.

The survey by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says Lamwo's malnutrition cases stand at 34.8%, which is above the national prevalence of 29%.

Cliff Winston Alvarico, the team leader of UNHCR in Lamwo, says chronic malnutrition among refugees is at 25% while the host is at 34.8%. He says, according to a recent survey, Palabek has a 13.9 % acute malnutrition rate for children under five years of age.

“The increasing cases of malnutrition is an indicator that there is no available food to the consumers. The lack of retailing within the proximity population affects the ability of refugees and host communities to buy food even if they have the money”, he said.

While speaking during the Launch of African Women Rising demonstration, training and research farm in Apyeta central village in Palabek Ogili sub-county in Lamwo on Saturday, October 28, 2023, Alvarico said there is a need to make food accessible to contribute to addressing malnutrition.

Alvarico explained that the availability of food in Lamwo is very low as people produce food and sell it off to produce buyers and later use the money to buy processed food sold at a high price.

He pointed to high dependency syndrome in which refugees depend on relief food because humanitarian partners focus on only giving out food instead of empowering the refugees to produce their own food.

Alvarico said humanitarian actors only look at refugees because of the limitation of funds and sometimes fail to support host communities.

“We focus too much on the refugees, without looking at host communities which have been impacted by long conflicts of the LRA [Lord's Resistance Army] war and grappling with the reconstruction process”.

He said the best thing to do is to localise the implementation programme in the refugee settlement by empowering refugees with skills and knowledge to be self-reliant and sustainable instead of waiting for handouts.

Engage in farming

Fivi Akulu, the Palabek refugee settlement commandant, said at the moment, the settlement is hosting over 80,000 refugees and out of these, 82% are women and children.

Cliff Winston Alvarico (L), the team leader of UNHCR in Lamwo, says chronic malnutrition among refugees is at 25% while the host is at 34.8%. (All Photos by Jackson Kitara)

She said most of the refugees are women and child-headed families which are supposed to look for food for survival due to dwindling funding to support refugees from international communities.

Akulu explained that food for refugees is now at 60% and 40%. She said 60% of the food is for refugees who are most vulnerable.

She warned refugees and host communities not to depend on food relief, but engage in farming to improve their food security.

Akulu said: “We have 2,290 acres that we have secured from host communities. I will make sure that I steer the partners in livelihood to make the land productive so that we are in a position to produce food here for refugees”.

Environmental degradation

Akulu said the high population of Palabek refugees is exerting pressure on natural resources where trees are being cut for cooking. She said there is a need to plan woodlots to curb the vice.

Lamwo LC5 vice-chairperson David Odong Madiki cautioned farmers against selling their produce and urged them to keep some for home consumption.

He said many people have chunks of land, but how to put the land to good use is the problem.

“We need to change the mindset of our people to use their available land to improve their lives and fight poverty, most of the refugees hosting communities sleep hungry, yet they have chunks of land,” Madiki said.

Lamwo Resident District Commissioner Geoffrey Osborn Oceng said in east Acholi, Lamwo is the centre of agricultural production where they realise bumper harvest, but produce dealers always come and buy the produce after harvest which has created food insecurity in the district.