MPs Push For A Law On Food Security.
Urge GOV’T to Extend Food Relief To Hunger Stricken Areas.
Members of parliament on the forum of food security, population, and development have finalized plans to table a private members Bill on food security, safety, and nutrition 2022 which will compel the government to put mechanisms to address food scarcity of food and malnutrition in the country.
The Bill will also enforce government to provide continuous relief supplies and distribution of seedlings to areas with special needs.
During the recently concluded UN General Assembly, it was estimated that 19,700 people die of hunger every day with approximately 345 million facing acute hunger and malnutrition with 518000 in urgent need of food assistance in the Karamoja region. To address the matter, members of parliament on the forum of food security population and development have finalized plans to table a private members bill to address the bottlenecks.
The private member’s Bill which has been in offing for 9 years will task the government to allocate resources and will compel the government to set up food reserves countrywide and avoid cases of escalating food prices and starvation.
Led by the Kilak South MP Anthony Akol, legislators have also piled pressure on the government to revise and update its policy on food security and nutrition; saying it’s too old to manage the current challenges since it was last updated in 2003.
The forum has warned of the looming hunger and starvation in different parts of the country due to food insecurity caused by poor harvests of the past seasons. They have urged the government to reduce excessive expenditures and channel resources to relief.
