Victory Outreach Church Steps In to Support Food-Insecure Households in Karamoja.

By Issac Erick Odongo 

KOTIDO, Uganda — As hunger continues to affect communities across Karamoja, Victory Outreach ministryhas stepped in to provide food assistance to vulnerable households in Kotido Municipality and surrounding areas. 

The church has distributed food to 500 heads of households in Kotido Municipality, saying the intervention is aimed at supporting families struggling to cope with persistent food shortages.

 The assistance comes despite the government’s ongoing efforts to distribute relief food to communities affected by hunger in Karamoja.

Local leaders say the amount of food reaching households remains insufficient compared with the number of people in need. Kotido District Chief Administrative officer Emmanuel Oyuku Ocen said that while government food distributions are taking place, the supplies are not enough to meet the needs of the growing number of food-insecure households.

He attributed part of the challenge to changes in population figures used for planning and distribution, noting that some households may not have been adequately captured in official assessments. 

The situation has prompted faith-based organisations such as Victory Outreach Ministry to complement government efforts by reaching families they say are in urgent need of food.

 The church’s leader, Rev. Johnson Ogema, said the ministry distributed food to vulnerable households after witnessing the difficult conditions facing communities in Karamoja. Ogema also appealed for prayers for Karamoja, particularly for adequate rainfall and improved agricultural conditions.

 He urged communities to remain resilient and continue working to overcome hunger and poverty. Paul Lotee Komol, Kotido district chairperson welcomed the church’s intervention and appealed for more organisations to support hunger-affected communities.

Lotee said the food provided by the government does not reach everyone in need, leaving some households without adequate supplies. 

He called on victory outreach churche and other organisations to increase their support to communities facing severe food shortages. The latest church intervention included 20-kilogram bags of maize flour and 10-kilogram packagesm of beans distributed to households in Nakapelimoru and Longaroe in Kotido District.

 The intervention comes as the government continues implementing measures to address hunger in Karamoja.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni allocated about UGX 45 billion for food distribution to hunger-affected communities, but local leaders say the scale of need remains high. With food insecurity continuing to affect households across the region, community leaders are calling for sustained support from both government and non-governmental actors, alongside longer-term measures to strengthen food production and household resilience.