Additional Context: This quote is attributed to Titus Jogo, a Ugandan government official in southwest Uganda. The coping mechanisms he refers to include relying on less preferred or cheaper foods, reducing meal size or frequency, borrowing money, taking children out of school, and selling assets. The World Food Programme, or WFP, has significantly decreased assistance to refugees in Uganda, having reached 1.6 million people in early 2025 to just 663,000 by early 2026.

Devex Researcher Note: Despite making up the majority of refugee households, those led by women are the most vulnerable, being food insecure at nearly twice the rate of male-headed households and performing worse in all other relevant indicators, according to the latest available government data. Children, who make up more than half of all refugee households, saw acute malnutrition increase significantly at 44% between 2024 and 2025. Reports from 2025 also show coping strategies becoming more common in Ugandan refugee households — 48.9% borrow money, 23.3% withdraw children from school, and 26.2% reduce essential healthcare expenses.

Between 2024 and 2025, U.S. contributions to the World Food Program more than halved, from $4.45 billion to $2.06 billion. As of April 2026, the U.S. has pledged just over $538 million. The decrease in U.S. contributions thus accounts for roughly half of the total cut to WFP funds, with other donors also reducing their contributions.

Source: WFP