The effects of climate change have increased food insecurity and violence against women and girls in Bugisu Sub-region, officials have said.
Ms Meresi Mutonyi, the Mbale District Community Development Officer (DCDO), says climate change has affected agricultural productivity and water resources due to environmental degradation, resulting in scarcity, which in return is responsible for food shortage.
He added that some families have resorted to marrying off their daughters in order to cope with the current food scarcity that is leading to the rising cost of commodities.
“The men have abandoned their homes to seek a living elsewhere. Women and children are left to fend for themselves, which makes them vulnerable to violence and sexual exploitation,” Ms Mutonyi said.
The DCDO further revealed that some women and children are employed as casual labourers in exchange for food to sustain their families.
“Climate change has increased diseases such as malaria, and malnutrition,” she said.
Dr Stella Ainomugisha, a nutritionist, said most children and pregnant mothers, who turn up at health centres, present signs of starvation.
“There is malnutrition and this has been attributed to lack of food in people’s homes,” Ms Ainomugisha said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines acute malnutrition among children from six months to 59 months as a very low weight for height.
The experts blame changing weather patterns such as high temperatures, unreliable rainfall for increasing food insecurity.
The Elgon regional police spokesperson, Mr Rogers Taitika, said poor harvest, lower earnings and livestock and food insecurity have put a lot of pressure on men, who are the traditional bread winners.
“They men often turn to alcohol and become more violent, especially when they have disagreements with their wives,” Mr Taitika said.
Mr Elly Turuho, the programme manager for Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development-Uganda (ACORD-U) in eastern Uganda, said climate change is greatly affecting women and children.
“This is justifiable because in case of disasters that cause displacement, women and children suffer more trauma and are vulnerable to GBV,” Mr Turuho said.
He said ACORD, with funding from UNFPA, has put up five women’s spaces in the Elgon region to act as psychosocial healing platforms for women affected by disasters such as floods, landslides and other disasters.
The beneficiary districts include Mbale City, Mbale, Bududa, Sironko and Bulambuli districts.
Mr Joseph Okello, an environmental expert, blamed the current situation on the cutting down of trees for charcoal, firewood and construction materials.
“The soils have lost fertility leading to loss of crop productivity and the seasons have changed due to climate change,” Mr Okello said.
The experts made the remarks during a stakeholders meeting held to validate and approve the Mbale District disaster contingency plan. The event was organised by the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development-Uganda (ACORD-U) last week at the district headquarters.
ACORD-U, a non-governmental organisation, aspires to provide lifesaving Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and GBV services in Sironko, Bulambuli, Mbale, Bududa and Mbale City.
Ms Vivian Musika, the consultant resistance specialist for District Disaster Contingency Plan for Bugisu region, said when disasters happen, it fuels GBV and sexual reproductive issues.
He also asked the district to approve the disaster plan saying, of the 147 districts in the country, only 31 have disaster plans.
Mr Jackson Muhindo, a climate change coordinator for Oxfam in Uganda, said: “The government should invest in adaptation interventions like water for irrigation so that women can produce enough for home consumption and market in the face of climate change.”
In August last year, about 29 people were killed in floods that devastated Bugisu Sub-region in Eastern Uganda.
dOMESTIC VIOLENCE
A total of 17,698 cases of domestic violence were reported to police in 2022 compared to 17,533 cases in 2021 thus giving a 0.94 percent increase in domestic violence cases, according to the 2022 police crime report.
The report shows that Elgon region registered 713 cases of domestic violence.
