‘45% OF KARIMOJONG CHILDREN EAT A MEAL A DAY’

By Steven Ariong
Moroto. About 44.8 per cent of children in Karamoja sub-region live in households that have only one meal a day, a report by Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace (NCCJP), an NGO, has revealed.

The report, which was carried out on a human capital predicament, was done in Moroto, Nakapiripirit, Kotido and Kaabong districts.
While presenting the survey to district officials in Moroto Town last Friday, Mr Hilary Bbrinya, an official from NCCJP, said the situation is caused by worsening poverty level in the region.
Mr Bbrinya said they found less than 6 per cent of the total number of P7 candidates got Division One in Primary Leaving Examinations due to challenges arising from poverty.
He urged development partners and government to invest more in education and introduce crops that grow in a shorter period of time to avoid hunger.
The Moroto inspector of schools, Mr George William Igune, said some parents in the region send their children to school when there is food.
“Poverty is a big challenge among our community because parents even can’t afford just a pencil or a book for the child to go to school,” Mr Igune said.
CREDIT SOURCE: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-45--of-Karimojong-children-eat-a-meal-a-day-/-/688334/2549086/-/r78a56/-/index.html