KAMPALA – The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has called on the government to declare child malnutrition a national emergency, warning that millions of Ugandan children are facing a nutritional crisis that threatens the country’s future development.
Addressing journalists at the party’s weekly press briefing at Uganda House in Kampala, UPC President Jimmy Akena said the country could no longer afford to ignore what he described as a growing public health and economic challenge.
Akena cited estimates indicating that about two million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, arguing that the crisis demands immediate government intervention.
“These are not just statistics. They represent millions of children whose health, education and future productivity are at risk if urgent action is not taken,” Akena said.
He noted that child malnutrition continues to undermine Uganda’s human capital despite decades of relative peace, questioning why the country continues to register high levels of child stunting compared to some countries that have experienced prolonged armed conflicts.
Akena said the government should strengthen investments in maternal and child healthcare, nutrition programmes, sanitation, education and poverty reduction if it is to reverse the trend.
He also criticised what he described as the failure to revive the rural economy, arguing that persistent poverty has contributed significantly to poor nutrition among children in many parts of the country.
According to Akena, districts in Karamoja, Teso, Lango, Acholi, parts of West Nile and Busoga continue to record some of the highest levels of child malnutrition in the country.
The UPC leader also urged the government to reform the agricultural sector by investing in food storage facilities and strategic food reserves to ensure surplus harvests can be preserved and distributed to areas facing food shortages.
He said Uganda has the natural resources to feed its population and should not continue witnessing hunger in regions such as Karamoja.
During the same briefing, Akena criticised President Yoweri Museveni for repeatedly referring to former President Milton Obote in political discussions, saying the country should instead focus on addressing present-day challenges affecting ordinary Ugandans.
UPC Vice President Fahad Kinyir Mutenderwa said existing government programmes aimed at improving nutrition have yielded limited results due to weak implementation.
He called on the government to allocate dedicated emergency funding to combat child malnutrition instead of relying on fragmented interventions.
Mutenderwa proposed expanding community-based nutrition programmes through Health Centre IIs and IIIs by increasing the number of nutrition specialists, providing therapeutic foods for malnourished children and integrating nutrition screening into maternal and child healthcare services.
He also urged the government to establish regional agricultural export hubs to improve market access for farmers, increase household incomes and strengthen food security across the country.
According to the 2022 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 26 percent of children under five are stunted due to chronic undernutrition, while four percent suffer from wasting, a severe form of acute malnutrition. The Ministry of Health estimates that approximately 29,000 children die annually from malnutrition-related causes.
UPC said tackling child malnutrition requires coordinated action involving the health, agriculture, education and finance sectors, warning that failure to act decisively could have long-term consequences for Uganda’s economic growth and national development.
