Save the Children reported that the number of acutely malnourished children in Karamoja rose from 122,100 to 154,200 since an assessment in June. The organisation warned the caseload is expected to increase further, projecting a 25 percent rise by 2026.
Karamoja, home to roughly 1.6 million people, has seen food insecurity deteriorate over recent months. Localised shortages and falling crop yields have pushed more children into acute malnutrition, according to the organisation’s assessment.
Save the Children linked the deterioration to El Niño-related dry spells. The group said sparse rainfall across the region has contributed to crop failures and plant stress, effects that have been amplified by what it described as a super El Niño impacting drought-prone areas in Uganda and east Africa.
The rising numbers shift the immediate need toward emergency treatment for severely malnourished children and broader support to stabilise food supplies. With the organisation forecasting higher caseloads through 2026, pressure on local health services and humanitarian responders is likely to grow unless conditions change.
The short-term outlook will hinge on rainfall patterns and the scale of any response to the wave of malnutrition Save the Children has documented.
