Mortality, nutritional status, and diet during the famine in Karaomoja, Uganda, 1980

Drought and the cattle raiding associated with a breakdown of civil order caused a famine in Karamoja, Uganda, during 1980. In November-December, 1980, a study of mortality, nutritional status, and dietary conditions was undertaken in south Karamoja. Of 309 randomly selected children less than or equal to 110 cm in height 4.8% had acute malnutrition (less than 80% reference median weight-for-height). Interviews in 150 randomly selected households revealed that the crude mortality rate and the infant mortality rate during the previous year were increased almost 5-fold and 10-fold, respectively, above 1969 census data. Food supplied by the World Food Program was eaten the previous day by only half the families which were not self-sufficient in food. Relief officials' hopes that the 1981 cereal harvest might end the dependence on international aid were tempered by reports of further drought. Agricultural yield and food supplies should thus be monitored to assess the need for more international aid.