Gov’t allocates Sh500m to feed children with nodding syndrome

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government has allocated 500 million Shillings to feed children with nodding syndrome in Northern Uganda this financial year.

This is according to State Minister for Health Robinah Nabbanja, in response to queries raised by Aruu North MP Lucy Aciro on the plight of thousands of children who are suffering with no food, no treatment and no intervention from the government to give them hope. Aciro said hundreds of children have since passed on.

Agago Woman MP Judith Franca Akello who made a supplementary response on the matter told Parliament on Thursday that the lockdown exacerbated the suffering of children with nodding syndrome and their families because their parents are not able to earn to sustain their livelihood.  She also questioned if the Ministry of Health will provide medicine for the children.

But Nabbanja disputed the claims and said that most of the children who suffered from nodding syndrome are in stable condition and have grown into adulthood. She says that in 2019, only one female patient died in Atanga, Pader district and this year one 20-year-old boy died this year.

Nabbanja said that the government has allocated 500 million to provide meals and medical support for the children across the Acholi region. She adds that many of the families are already receiving food aid through the district COVID-19 task forces.

Nodding syndrome is a neurological condition with unknown cause or origin. It was first documented in Tanzania in the 1960’s, then later in South Sudan in the 1990’s and in northern Uganda in 2007.

******

URN