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By Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa/KMA Updates.
Yumbe, Northern Uganda: Speaking at a community dialogue organized by Action Against Hunger USA-Uganda Mission (ACF) in Yumbe District, Hudu Hussein the Resident District Commissioner asked residents to grant positive reception of the project in the area.
Right to Grow is a project initiated by Ministry of Local Government implemented by Action Against Hunger USA-Uganda Mission in three districts of Yumbe, Adjumani and Kikuube with funding from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands.
The project is aimed at ensuring food security, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and fighting malnutrition in children under the age of five for them to grow to their potential.
Hudu Hussein, Yumbe Resident District Commissioner flanked by Asiku Abdul-Mutwalib, Yumbe District LCV Chairperson listen to officials from Action Against Hunger USA-Uganda Mission (ACF) at Kululu Sub County. Photo by Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa.
Basing at Chunia Village in Ewafa Parish, Kululu Sub County in Yumbe District where ACF had organized a community dialogue emphasizing the relevance of the project to them, Hudu revealed that the district is one of those with vast fertile redundant land as a result it records acute cases of malnutrition, food insecurity and high crime rates.
He therefore called upon residents to engage themselves directly in utilizing their land, grow more food, and embrace post handling ways in order to ensure food security for sustainability.
Hudu added that residents should take on the opportunity of ACF being in the area to transform their society, mind-set and fight hunger.
Also present at the event was the LCV Chairperson of the District Asiku Abdul-Mutwalib who appealed to landlords to willingly donate more of the required land in order to complement the Right to Grow Project which targeted their area citing that it is for their benefit.
“On our part as leaders, we shall continue to mobilize the landlords to have a positive attitude towards donating required land since we are performing poorly in nutrition related matters in the area”. He quoted.
He cited, the project is now targeting only two Sub Counties of Kululu and Oduravo since they have the highest prevalence of malnutrition cases in the area and seeks that in the near future it should be enrolled to other Sub Counties since thy’re also not doing well.
Drajiga Rasulu, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer who represented the (CAO) Yumbe District speaks to residents of Jurumini in Kululu Sub County. Photo by Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa.
Drajiga Rasulu the Assistant Chief Administrative Officer who represented the (CAO) Yumbe District had earlier told us that one of the landlords in two Sub Counties donated close to 1000 acres of land for the project.
“By the fact that a single landlord is in position to offer such chunk of land, it sights to us the embracement, preparedness and the value they attach to the project”. He added.
He said that the design of the project is emphasizing growing of high yielding crops and this requires successive interventions in sensitizing residents are not doing well in agriculture;
“May be people don’t differentiate between junk and nutritious food, so the project will help them know suitable food for infants and pregnant mothers to kickout malnutrition in the area”. He cited.
In the wrap up of the community dialogue in Yumbe district that ran for two days, Mariam Akiror the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Action Against Hunger USA-Uganda Mission (ACF) expressed that the community should think about nutrition sensitive Agriculture that will impact good health and growth.
Mariam Akiror, the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Action Against Hunger USA-Uganda Mission (ACF) speaks to community members of Kululu Sub County in Yumbe emphasizing Right to Grow Project. Photo by Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa.
She revealed that this can only be achieved if residents donated required land, and ACF would come in to support their efforts by providing oversight in collaboration with their leadership so that malnutrition and under stunting are eliminated.
“It is possible to eliminate hunger because it is man caused and the solution to eliminate it is with us”. She remarked.
She urged residents to grow high nutritious crops like orange sweet potatoes, Vegetables, millet, cereals, fruits and others in order to nourish their bodies and surplus for security.
“This initiative is aligned with the seven pillars of the parish development model and that’s why we are grouping you in order to effectively allocate the donated land for communal farming”. She stated.
Mariam assured residents that Minister of Local Government Hon. Raphael Magezi is set to visit districts of Yumbe and Adjumani to establish their preparedness of residents there towards Right to Grow project and that he will donate tractors to them if they will be in position to willingly donate land for project implementation.
Mariam Akiror, the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Action Against Hunger USA-Uganda Mission (ACF) speaks to community members of Kululu Sub County in Yumbe emphasizing Right to Grow Project in presence of RDC and LCV Chairperson. Photo by Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa.
Community members of Kululu Sub County in Yumbe are seen paying attention to address by Mariam Akiror, the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Action Against Hunger USA-Uganda Mission (ACF) on Right to Grow Project. Photo by Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa.
*The Right to grow is a five project running from 2021 to 2025 now in its second year of implementation.
In Yumbe, it is focussing on two sub counties of Kululu and Oduravo due to high prevalence of malnutrition cases there with hope of being enrolled in others.
Yumbe district has the highest number of acutely malnourished children at 10,315, followed by Adjumani district with 5,439 according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Acute Malnutrition scale (IPC AMN) as of 2019-2020.
Of the ten districts analysed by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Acute Malnutrition scale (IPC AMN) in Northern Uganda, acute malnutrition is at an Alert level (IPC Phase 2) in these 2 districts.
More than 1 in every 20 children is affected by acute malnutrition in the 2 districts classified as being in Alert.