Over 89,000 children aged 6 to 59 months and 10,000 pregnant or lactating women (PLW) are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in the Karamoja region of Uganda between February 2023 and January 2024. Of the nine districts in Karamoja, during the onset of high acute malnutrition (February - April 2023), one district was classified in IPC AMN Phase 4, Critical, five districts in IPC AMN Phase 3, Serious and three districts in IPC AMN Phase 2, Alert. In the projection period of high acute malnutrition (May - September 2023), each district is expected to see more children with acute malnutrition. Deterioration in malnutrition, however, will increase the GAM levels but retain the phase except in one district that is expected to deteriorate from Phase 2 to Phase 3. In the projection period of low acute malnutrition (October 2023 - January 2024), GAM levels may decrease marginally retaining similar phase classifications in seven districts with a change in phases from Phase 3 to Phase 2 in two districts.

For the period of February to April 2023, Kaabong district was classified in Phase 4; Amudat, Kotido, Moroto, Nabilatuk and Nakapiripirit districts were classified in Phase 3; whereas Abim, Karenga and Napak were classified in Phase 2. Compared to the same season of 2022, Moroto reported a significant improved GAM from 22% recorded in 2022 to 10.8% in 2023. During the projection period of May - September 2023, despite an expected increase in the level of acute malnutrition, the phase classification is likely to remain similar to that observed in February to April in the majority of the districts, except in Napak district where it will likely deteriorate from Phase 2 to Phase 3. In the projection period of October 2023 – January 2024, the situation is anticipated to improve in Nakapiripiti and Napak districts but remain similar in all other districts. Each district will likely see a reduction in the number of acutely malnourished children, compared to the previous period of May – September 2023.High acute malnutrition is attributed to high and recurrent food insecurity that has led to very poor levels of food consumption among children 6-23 months; aggravated diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria; poor hygiene and sanitation emanating from lack of sufficient water and poor access to sanitation facilities; and high maternal workload and alcoholism that lead to inadequate child care (IYCF) practices. Anaemia among children under five years and pregnant women is of public health concern.

• Intensify and scale up response to treat the existing cases of acute malnutrition among children as well as PLW in all the affected districts. This should be done in a coordinated manner, through an appropriate, relevant and feasible humanitarian response, in line with the needs of the affected population.
• Strengthen routine interventions for deworming, antigens and micronutrients for disease prevention.
• Strengthen prevention, testing and treatment of malaria through scale-up of interventions like Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM), community mobilizations and outreach services, vector control mechanisms like distribution of mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying and larviciding, and other public health services.
• Improve coverage and access of IMAM services through stabilizing the commodity pipeline, strengthening the capacity of health workers in IMAM, having the right staffing levels, and strengthening the facility-community linkages.
• Promote and intensify awareness-raising actions on good practices for adequate Maternal, Infant, Young Child and Adolescent Nutrition (MIYCAN) at community level. Additionally, scale up maternal and child friendly environment for improved breast feeding and optimal nutrition status.
• Strengthen early childhood development by improving the capacity of caregivers and infrastructure at the community centres, as well as creating greater awareness at community level about the benefits of nurturing care for children during the first five years of life.