Health Camp For the Dying Karamajongs

According to the latest IPC Acute Malnutrition (AMN) 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 another four districts have Alert levels of acute malnutrition (IPC AMN Phase 2). About 56,600 children in the nine districts included in the analysis are affected by acute malnutrition and are in need of 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 (IPC AMN Phase 4) with a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) prevalence of 18.6%. Amudat, Kotido, Moroto and Napak districts have Serious levels of acute malnutrition (IPC AMN Phase 3), with GAM prevalences of 10.9%, 10.4%, 14.2%, and 9.4% respectively. The districts with Alert levels of acute malnutrition (IPC AMN Phase 2) are Abim (GAMN 6.3%), Karenga (GAM 9.6%), Nabilatuk (GAM 8%), and Nakapiripirit (GAM 8.2%). Of these, Karenga has high levels of acute malnutrition, with a slight chance of slipping into IPC AMN Phase 3 during the projection period of August 2021 to January 2022.

The major factors contributing to acute malnutrition are: very poor dietary quantity and quality, with less than 1 in 10 children consuming a minimum acceptable diet; high food insecurity; poor sanitation / latrine coverage, with open/bush defecation practiced by 60% of the population; low per capita water use, with only about 30% of the households meeting the recommended water use of 20 liters per person per day (leading to hygiene challenges); and high incidence of diarrhea (15%) and malaria (18%). Additionally, high mother workload and alcoholism lead to reduced childcare and inadequate breastfeeding exposes the children to recurrent infections leading to increased malnutrition incidences. Although not a direct contributing factor to acute malnutrition, anemia is a major public health problem in all districts