Uganda MPs Urge Shift From Emergency Food Relief to Disaster Preparedness

On August 12, 2026, Members of Parliament urged the Ugandan government to pivot from recurring emergency food relief toward sustainable long-term disaster preparedness, including vital irrigation projects. The call follows a parliamentary presentation detailing an ongoing intervention across nine drought-hit districts in the Karamoja sub-region, where hundreds of thousands face acute food insecurity.

The debate unfolded during a plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa. Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Sam Engola briefed the House on active government interventions designed to manage severe weather shocks, prompting lawmakers to question the long-term viability of relying solely on reactive food distributions.

Karamoja Food Security and Current Relief Operations

Government distributions are currently targeting 313,987 households spread across 480 parishes in the nine districts of Karamoja. According to Minister Engola’s statement to Parliament, each eligible household is scheduled to receive 20 kilograms of maize flour and 10 kilograms of beans.

This emergency measure comes in response to deep crisis-level food insecurity affecting approximately 473,000 people across the region. Within that total, roughly 41,000 individuals face emergency-level conditions that require immediate sustenance. However, lawmakers argued that short-term distributions fail to address the root causes of recurring agricultural failure in these vulnerable communities.

Lawmakers Demand Irrigation and Structural Resilience

Lawmakers pressed the executive branch to abandon temporary fixes in favor of structural investments like irrigation systems and community food reserves. Adjumani District Woman MP Jesca Ababiku criticized the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries for stalling on commitments made years prior.

“The issue of irrigation is key, the Ministry for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries did some site surveys in Adjumani district, five years ago, but nothing has happened,” Ababiku told Parliament, noting that persistent drought has heavily undermined local agricultural frameworks linked to the parish development model.

Napak District Woman MP Faith Nakut acknowledged the government’s direct-to-parish food distribution efforts, which represent a Shs45 billion investment, but raised questions regarding financial sustainability. “Reports indicate that food distributed is finished; sustaining food relief is a difficult job,” Nakut said, adding an urgent appeal for crop-growing support and pre-disaster flood mitigation.

“We are battling with drought, what about flooding expected in weeks’ time? I implore government to deploy equipment for desilting. Let water move, otherwise this House will be burdened by many disasters related requests,” Nakut warned.

Reviving Food Reserves and Long-Term Resettlement

Other parliamentarians echoed the demand for systemic structural reforms. Gulu City Woman MP Betty Aol Ocan advocated for the re-establishment of centralized government food reserves.

“We cannot wait for people to die in order to come to their rescue. There used to be silos – big government stores to keep food for help in times of disasters,” Ocan stated during the plenary session.

Adding a localized perspective from Moroto Municipality, Francis Adome Lorika reported that approximately 2,000 households within his specific constituency missed out entirely on the recent food distribution rounds. Lorika joined his colleagues in pressing for permanent solutions, suggesting comprehensive irrigation expansion alongside planned community resettlements away from chronically disaster-prone zones.

El-Nino Contingency Planning for Late 2026

Responding to lawmakers’ concerns, Minister Engola outlined upcoming administrative measures. The government is currently developing a comprehensive El-Nino contingency plan to address forecasts warning of above-normal rainfall expected between September and December 2026.

The contingency framework spans multiple sectors—including agriculture, food security, works, transport, and health—and outlines specific interventions to be deployed before, during, and after heavy downpours. Additional steps involve multi-sectoral public messaging campaigns regarding early weather warnings and directives requiring local governments to strictly enforce environmental laws that discourage settlement in hazardous floodplains.

Parliamentary scrutiny has made it clear that weathering future climate shocks requires more than temporary rations; it demands structural integrity built directly into the nation’s agricultural and municipal foundations.