Food still needed for pupils in IDP camps

Aug 13, 2007

THE World Food Programme has suspended provision of free lunch to pupils in internally displaced people’s camps due to shortage of funds. The world’s largest humanitarian agency needs $134m to support 1.2 million IDPs, 187,000 refugees and 500,000 people affected by drought in Karamoja sub-regio

THE World Food Programme has suspended provision of free lunch to pupils in internally displaced people’s camps due to shortage of funds. The world’s largest humanitarian agency needs $134m to support 1.2 million IDPs, 187,000 refugees and 500,000 people affected by drought in Karamoja sub-region this year. But only $96m has been received so far.

In April, WFP cut the food rations for Uganda’s displaced people and refugees by 50% and warned that if the funding crisis continued, it would cut food in schools.

In May, WFP suspended provision of lunch to the pupils. It, however, still provides mid-morning porridge for about 344,000 school children in Acholi, 72,000 in Lango and 37,000 in Teso region, according to the agency’s public information assistant, Lydia Wamala.

The WFP’s suspension of the provision of lunch to pupils in the IDP camps is a serious and extremely worrying development. The provision of food to pupils is critical for increased enrollment and sustained attendance. It also enhances children’s cognitive development.

Provision of lunch to the pupils in the IDP camps is still absolutely necessary. A significant number of pupils in IDP camps would certainly drop out of the schools once they are not provided with the meals. For very obvious reasons, the parents of the children in the IDP camps obviously cannot provide meals for them at school.

Even some parents in the areas not ravaged by the war, have had difficulties providing food to their children at school under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme, as required.

The Government and the international community should, therefore, supportthe WFP with the necessary funds to continue providing lunch to the pupils in the IDP camps. Stopping provision of lunch to these pupils should be effected in a gradual and well planned manner, but not so abruptly.

When peace is finally restored to the north and people fully resettled, such humanitarian aid won’t be necessary. For now, terminating such humanitarian interventions is inappropriate.

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