Saving Lives
Changing Lives

While Uganda has progressively undergone social and economic growth and transformation, the country’s remains a risk to inclusive economic growth.

Uganda is ranked 159 out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index, according to the Human Development Report 2023. Despite its agricultural potential and significant exports, Uganda’s food insecurity levels remain classified as ‘serious’ by the 2023 Global Hunger Index, posing further challenges to the country’s ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger.

An increasing frequency of droughts and floods heightens the vulnerability of Uganda’s smallholder farmers, in a country reliant on rain-fed agriculture.

The country continues to host Africa’s largest number of refugees, with over 1.6 million refugees and asylum seekers from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi and other countries. Despite Uganda’s progressive refugee policy providing land and freedom of movement, refugees continue to face significant livelihood, food security and economic constraints.

One in four children in Uganda are stunted (impaired growth due to malnutrition) an irreversible condition. Poor-quality diets are creating health crises, undermining human capital development, and jeopardizing economic prosperity in Uganda. Malnutrition remains especially concerning in the semi-arid northeastern region of Karamoja.

The Government has made strides in addressing poverty and vulnerability through various social protection initiatives. However, scope and coverage remain limited amid increasing needs. WFP supports the Government in helping vulnerable and food-insecure populations meet their basic needs and building resilience.  

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What the World Food Programme is doing in Uganda

Crisis response
WFP provides cash and food assistance to meet the needs of 1.3 million refugees as well as Ugandans affected by recurring climate shocks. Upon arrival, refuges receive hot meals in transit centres. They are then registered to receive cash or food and are allocated land. WFP is also creating opportunities for refugees and host community members to progressively become self-reliant. The self-reliance model is a market-oriented approach that enables participants to move from relying on humanitarian assistance to meeting their own household needs. Approaches range from farming and post-harvest management, to training in financial literacy.
Climate action
WFP works with communities affected by climate shocks to build household and community assets that reduce the risk of disaster, strengthen livelihoods and build resilience over time. This includes introducing climate-resilient and nutritious crops, and improved water management. In Karamoja, WFP is encouraging livelihood diversification such as fish farming and beekeeping.
School meals
WFP provides a daily hot meal to 216,000 students in 315 primary schools in Karamoja (78 percent of schools in the region). WFP’s Home-Grown School Feeding model provides local, diverse and nutritious meals, while providing a market for smallholder farmers. In 2023, WFP registered a fivefold increase in the local procurement of food from smallholder farmers in Karamoja. WFP has supported the Government of Uganda’s join of the School Meals Coalition and development of a first National School Feeding Policy.
Nutrition
WFP is transitioning towards a sustainable, malnutrition-prevention model. This focuses on strengthening Government capacity at subnational level to integrate malnutrition prevention into routine health services, This involves capacity building of health care workers and community health structures (village health teams and care groups).
Support to smallholder farmers
WFP’s Agriculture and Market Support focuses on reducing post-harvest losses, strengthening national institution capacities, creating employment opportunities for young people, especially women, and improving access to markets.
Social protection
WFP, working with the Government of Uganda and sister UN agencies, is implementing two core interventions aiming at strengthening national and subnational social protection systems: The Child Sensitive Social Protection Programme enables the delivery of cash-based transfers to vulnerable populations, while Pro-Resilience Action strengthens the capacity of institutions to prepare for and respond to shocks through early warning and anticipatory actions.
Supply chain
WFP provides logistics services to the humanitarian community in Uganda and neighbouring countries. WFP Uganda maintains a satellite hub under the international network of the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), to support strategic prepositioning of emergency relief items for regional responses. In 2023, this facility supported emergency responses to flash floods in Rwanda and crisis response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Partners and donors

Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Uganda is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Canada China

Operations in Uganda

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Contacts

Office

Physical address: Clement Hill Road, Plot 17-19, Kampala, Uganda; Postal address: P.O. Box 7159, Kampala, Uganda
Kampala
Uganda

Phone
+256 (0) 312 242 000
Fax
+256 (0) 312 242 425
Email
WFP.Kampala@wfp.org
For media inquiries
WFP.Kampala@wfp.org
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