Months-long drought leads to 46 starvation deaths in Uganda: Lawmakers

By Godfrey Olukya

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) – Nearly 50 people have died from hunger in the Karamoja region of Uganda with many residents now eating grass to survive, lawmakers said Tuesday.

“Some of our people are starving to death because they do not have food. By July 8 we had registered 46 deaths to starvation with 2,181 households waiting to die over the same due to the dire state of famine that is ravaging the Karamoja sub region,” Karamoja MP, Faith Nakut, told reporters.

Nakut is concerned that residents have started eating grass as the only alternative to survive amid a month-long drought that is ravaging the region.

She and other lawmakers from Karamoja have appealed to the world to aid residents before the death toll widens.

Nakut said officials have depleted their salaries to buy food for the most affected households as they wait for the government to respond.

Local leader Meri Jino expressed fears that elderly residents are likely to die from starvation because they cannot travel to other regions to get food.