A non-governmental organisation, Save the Children Initiative, has raised the alarm over the rising number of acutely malnourished children in the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda amid El Niño-related dry spells

In a statement on Thursday, the NGO said children malnutrition was expected to rise by 25% by October 2026 significantly impacting children’s health in the country.

According to the organisation, new figures from global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), showed the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition had risen from 122,100 to 154,200 since a previous assessment in June.

It explained that 32,100 additional children now require malnutrition support, adding an estimated 38,800 children are expected to experience severe acute malnutrition.

“The figures show general food insecurity in Uganda’s Karamoja region, which is home to about 1.6 million people, has worsened dramatically in just a few months, with the numbers facing crisis or emergency situations rising by more than 40%,” SCI stated. 

The initiative noted that the number of people facing emergency food insecurity conditions in the country had nearly tripled with households exhausting resources, skipping multiple meals, or running out of food entirely 

“Drought-prone parts of Uganda and East Africa are feeling the effects of the super El Niño, with below-average rainfall contributing to lower harvests, reduced agricultural output, and localized crop failures, and plant stress.

“The Karamoja region has a long history of severe droughts and deadly famines driven by a hot, dry climate, civil unrest, and repeated crop failures. A devastating famine in 1980, which was triggered by a combination of extreme drought and civil unrest, caused up to 50,000 deaths, killing about 21% of the population,” it added.

The group’s country director in Uganda Martha Ddambya, described the situation as frightening, adding that it was working to help children access treatment, improve nutrition, and support families to grow food and earn an income.

“Our teams in Karamoja are seeing the impact of this crisis every day. Families tell us they have less food to put on the table, harvests have been poor, and more children are arriving at health facilities malnourished and in need of urgent support. 

“For parents, there is nothing more frightening than watching a child go hungry and not knowing where the next meal will come from. The sharp rise in child malnutrition should be a warning that the situation is deteriorating and that thousands more children are at risk unless action is taken now,” Ms Ddambya said.

She added that the group needed urgent increased funding to reach vulnerable children before conditions worsen further.

El Niño is a natural climate pattern characterized by the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.