DISCLAIMER: Please note that this IPC Acute Malnutrition analysis was integrated with an IPC Acute Food Insecurity analysis.

During the lean season of 2021, February – July 2021, of the nine districts in the Karamoja region, one district has Critical levels of acute malnutrition (IPC AMN Phase 4), four districts have Serious levels of acute malnutrition (IPC AMN Phase 3), and four districts have Alert levels of acute malnutrition (IPC AMN Phase 2). About 56,600 children in these nine districts are affected by acute malnutrition and need treatment. Approximately 46,300 children are moderately malnourished, while over 10,200 children are severely malnourished. Around 10,200 pregnant or lactating women are also acutely malnourished. Kaabong district has Critical levels of acute malnutrition with a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) prevalence of 18.6%. Amudat, Kotido, Moroto and Napak districts have Serious levels of acute malnutrition, with GAM prevalences of 10.9%, 10.4%, 14.2% and 9.4%, respectively. The districts with Alert levels of acute malnutrition are Abim (GAMN 6.3%), Karenga (GAM 9.6%), Nabilatuk (GAM 8%) and Nakapiripirit (GAM 8.2%). Karenga has high levels of acute malnutrition, with a slight chance of slipping into IPC AMN Phase 3 during the projection period (August 2021 - January 2022).

Population estimates for February 2021 - January 2022

To avert further deterioration in the nutrition status among children and PLWs in the region, it is important to prioritise universal treatment for all children with acute malnutrition and also scale up treatment and prevention among LWs, particularly in Kaabong, Kotido and Moroto districts. While improving treatment capacity and coverage is necessary, improving early detection of acute malnutrition and addressing other factors identified as major contributing factors to acute malnutrition should also be emphasized to prevent malnutrition in the future.