Uganda's Karamoja Region Faces Food Insecurity Amid Challenges Imposed By USAID Funding Cuts And Climate Change

MOROTO, UGANDA - JULY 22: A picture of a traditional karamojong homestead (manyatta) in Nadunget sub county, Moroto district, on July 22, 2025 in Moroto, Uganda. Due to harsh climate effects leading to crop failure, families are cutting meals and adults skip meals for children to eat. The Karamoja region in north-eastern Uganda has the highest rates of food insecurity and malnutrition within the East African country, with 45% of the population (approximately 600,000 people) in crisis, according to data from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Food Security and Nutrition Assessment (FSNA). To combat the hunger crisis in Karamoja, WFP works with the Ugandan government to run a program of malnutrition treatment, prevention, and intervention, as well as agricultural support for local farmers. However, food insecurity in the region has been exacerbated by the double-edged sword of increasingly unpredictable weather impacting harvests and dramatic cuts to foreign aid. Following US President Donald Trump's executive order in January to defund the United States Agency for International Development(USAID), WFP is now facing a projected 40% reduction in its funding for 2025, leaving an estimated 58 million people around the world vulnerable to starvation. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images)