Livestock body conditions atypically deteriorating

In Karamoja, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes persist in Napak and Moroto, where poor households exhausted their minimal harvests in December and are now relying heavily on the sale of firewood/charcoal, borrowing, and begging to access food. In Abim, Kotido, Kaabong, and parts of Napak, poor households have normal food access through markets and access to some long-cycle sorghum harvests, although harvests are below average. However, most will deplete stocks in March and some will be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) during the March to June lean season. 

In bimodal areas, staple food prices are atypically increasing in many key markets following two consecutive seasons of below-average production. In Teso and Acholi, for example, the wage from a day’s labor currently purchases 1.3 kilograms of millet compared to 2.3 kilograms at this time last year. Many poor households are Stressed (IPC Phase 2), although agricultural labor opportunities in March/April are expected to increase household income, improving food access. 

Pasture and water availability in Karamoja are significantly below average due to poor April to September rainfall, above-average land surface temperatures, and overgrazing. Pastoralists from Teso and Acholi, Kenya, and South Sudan are putting additional pressure on available resources. Pasture and water resources are similarly below average in the cattle corridor. This has resulted in poorer than normal livestock body conditions and poor milk production in these areas. Improved livestock conditions are expected in April with the start of first season rains. 

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 656,220 South Sudanese have sought refuge in Uganda as of late-January, 417,450 of whom arrived after July 2016. Newly arrived refugees are currently receiving full rations from WFP and report food aid as one of their main sources of food. It is likely that most South Sudanese refugees are Stressed (IPC Phase 2!), with ongoing humanitairan assistance, and it is expected that full rations to newly arrived refugees will continue through at least May 2017.