Busoga in the Greater Central Region of Uganda is the territory of the third largest first nation of Uganda, Busoga Kingdom, numbering over 3.7 million people.

In comparison to the poorest sub-region, Karamoja where only 18.8% of households are food secure; and as well as the Greater Northern Uganda where only 33.3% of households are food secure, on average, Busoga sub-region is the better off.

About a half of households in Busoga are food secure. This is generally the status quo throughout the sub-region, with the exception of Namayingo District.

The state of food security in Busoga, by district, and in order of the most food secure is as follows:

• 59.5% of households in Luuka District are food secure.
• 58.1% of households in Iganga District are food secure.
• 55.7% of households in Jinja District are food secure.
• 55.1% of households in Bugweri District are food secure.
• 53.6% of households in Kamuli District are food secure.
• 51.3% of households in Kaliro District are food secure.
• 48.4% of households in Pakwach District are food secure.
• 47.6% of households in Mayuge District are food secure.
• 41.1% of households in Namutumba District are food secure.
• 40.5% of households in Bugiri District are food secure.
• 29.6% of households in Namayingo are food secure.

Be that as it may, with a population of nearly 4.4 million, it means thousands of people of Busoga have difficulties accessing sufficient food. They experience:

“Frequent and prolonged periods of insufficient food intake due to lack of money and other resources, forcing members of those households to skip meals or go an entire day without a meal.”

In comparison, the state of food security in Busoga, however, is not consistent with the finding that 14.3% of persons aged 10 years and above in Busoga have “probable general psychological distress;” which is 2.3 percentage points higher than the national average, which is 12.0%; and 3.6 percentage points higher than the Karamoja average, which is 10.7%.

Similarly, the food security situation in Busoga, in comparison, inconsistent with the finding that the people of Busoga have a life expectancy of 68 years, ten years less than the highest regional life expectancy in the Country – 78 years in Teso Sub-Region.

Information herein is extracted from the most recent Uganda National Population and Household Census Report, by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. A PDF copy of the report is available to download free here.

Uganda Bureau of Statistics measures food poverty using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale.

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