Tolit Ivan & Agency
The Korean government has donated 2,544 metric tons of rice worth Shillings 10.5 billion to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support food-insecure refugees and school children in Uganda.
The relief food was officially handed over to WFP in the presence of Ugandan government officials on Wednesday by the Korean Ambassador to Uganda, Park Sung-soo, at the WFP warehouse in Gulu City.
According to WFP, the donation will provide lifesaving food assistance to 600,000 refugees across 13 refugee settlements and 200,000 school-going children in the Karamoja sub-region for one year.
WFP Deputy Country Director for Uganda, Marcus Prior, noted that Korea’s donation comes at a critical time when the agency is struggling to sustain its operations in providing relief food.
Hillary Onek, the Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, said the donation will directly strengthen the school feeding programme in Karamoja, where hunger remains widespread.
Onek noted that due to the harsh climatic conditions, farming in the subregion is possible for only a short period, sometimes just three to six months, which has affected food production.
