The withdrawal of food relief in Kitgum district by the World Food Program in December last year has affected people living with HIV and AIDS the hardest.
The World Food Program (WFP) halved the number of people receiving food aid in northern Uganda because of improved security in the north. It said more people had greater access to their land and were able to obtain a livelihood from other sources.
The food distribution is expected to reduce even further in 2010.
Peace Ajok, a 30-year-old mother of two in Alango Village in Kitgum, says her health has deteriorated considerably since the food aid was withdrawn. She says that without nourishment, she is unable to work and cannot cater for her children who are also HIV-positive.
Ajok's husband died of AIDS five years ago. She says she has been forced to close down her fish selling business due to her deteriorating health.
Susan Okot, a mother of six and resident of Westland Parish, identifies with Peace Ajok. She says that between her and her husband, who is a local council official, they do not have enough money to buy food. She says the food aid helped a lot in alleviating her problems and enabled her to concentrate on improving her health.
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Richard Racbedo, the assistant coordinator of Meeting Point, a community based organization that gives support to persons living with HIV/AIDS, says they used to link over 1,300 infected persons WFP for food supplements. The HIV-positive clients would receive corn soya blend, beans rice, posho and cooking oil from WFP.
Racbedo says Meeting Point has registered a number of deaths in the past months, which he says could be linked to poor nutrition.
Thomas Ojok, the Kitgum HIV/AIDS focal point person, estimates that 30,000 people living with HIV and AIDS do not have enough food because of the withdrawal of WFP supplies. He explains that without the food their immune systems are weakened further and they are vulnerable to numerous diseases.
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The WFP was the main source of food for tens of thousands of people displaced by the two-decade civil war in northern Uganda.
