APPENDIX 2. UGANDA COUNTRY REPORT

2.1.

CURRENT TARGETING SYSTEMS

2.1.a.

Food aid in Uganda (background)

Uganda has not until recently been regarded as a country with food problems, being, as

WFP/Uganda puts it,  endowed with some of the best agricultural land in the Great Lakes Region,

with favorable climate and ample rainfall  [ref 72].  Food aid (for redistribution to victims of

localized food insecurity or man made emergencies) has mostly been bought in country from a

domestic production surplus, rather than imported.   In recent years, however, this profile has been

changing. The overall surplus in food availability has been declining (as witnessed by WFP's falling

local procurement figures), and famine vulnerability has been rising (see the FEWS Special

Report, ref 54, and WFP's Country Strategy, ref 74).  1997 brought alarms about drought and

flood related emergencies (in addition to continuing food needs for refugee and conflict displaced

groups), and the first ever FAO/WFP Crop and Food Needs Assessment Mission to Uganda. The

accustomed view of Uganda as basically food secure largely explains the very low priority that has

been given to early warning and related information systems by the Ugandan government, and the

weakness or absence of a  relief infrastructure  to facilitate the management of food aid, as

discussed below.

Natural shocks

Figure 5:  Uganda ~ WFP food aid by purpose

(drought and flood)

have so far been

much less important

80,000

triggers of food

crisis in Uganda

70,000

than conflict and

t

Refugee/IDP

h

civil unrest. This is

o

60,000

Emergency

u

reflected in the

s

Developm ent

a

program allocation

50,000

n

of WFP food aid. As

d

illustrated in Figure

m

40,000

e

5, the proportion of

t

r

food aid for refugees

i

30,000

c

and the displaced

t

has far outweighed

o

20,000

n

the categories of

s

other emergency

10,000

and development

aid since 1993.

0

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

Because the scope

source:    http://www.wfp.org/reports/wfpstats

of work for this study

focuses on slow onset (primarily drought induced) emergencies, and excludes targeting in refugee

and displaced camps,  the report does not address some issues which are clearly of major

concern to decision makers in Uganda. Several informants in Kampala / Entebbe (WFP, donors

and NGOs) commented that targeting food aid to internally displaced persons (IDPs)   mainly in

the North and West of the country   was a major and protracted problem, and expressed

16

disappointment that the current study was not working on this.  It is therefore 

RECOMMENDED

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