Nairobi, July 20 (EFE) – More than 1,660 people have died of starvation since February in the Kotido region of northeastern Uganda, where an intense drought has raged for the past two years, regional president Lote Paul said on Wednesday. , to Efe Agency.

“The entire Karamoja region, where Kotido county is located, has been affected by famine. The situation is dire. We are in an emergency,” Komol said. said.

In Karamoja, Uganda’s driest region, the lack of rainfall for the past two years has prevented people from growing crops, he said.

Also, insecurity in the region, worsened by increased attacks by cattle thieves in 2018, has resulted in many herders losing their herds, the main source of income for families in Karamoja.

According to the head of the Kotido government, this has left many people in an “extremely vulnerable” situation as prices for basic food have risen steadily in recent months due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and civil war. Ukraine.

“Five truckloads of food and humanitarian supplies arrived in the Kotido area in the morning, which will help some people in distress, but we still need much more,” Komol said.

Komol urged both the Ugandan government and the international community to “support the Karamoja people” and provide necessary humanitarian assistance to the region.

According to a report by the Ugandan government between 2016 and 2017, Karamoja is Uganda’s poorest region, with 61% of its population living on less than $1.25 a day.

The UN said in June that some East African countries were hit by the worst drought in 40 years, pushing 18.4 million people into “severe famine”.