Nearly 89,000 children below five years of age and 10,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women across Karamoja, a region in northeastern Uganda, are malnourished and need urgent treatment, a new report has said.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an international standard of classifying food security and nutrition situations, authored by United Nations agencies, the Ugandan government and partners, showed that the region is in IPC Phase 3 and experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity.

According to the report, more than 580,000 people, or 45 percent of the population, fall under the crisis category, but the situation is likely to improve by the end of the year, with the percentage of the population in crisis dropping to 25 percent.

The report warned that without a targeted and effective response, at least 32,300 people, or 3 percent of the population, will slip into IPC phase 4, the emergency phase of food insecurity.

The report showed that the food insecurity levels in the region, which is semi-arid, have continued to worsen over the years and will deteriorate further if there is no urgent intervention.

In 2020, 27 percent of the population was at crisis or worse, and the reading has since been rising steadily, to 30 percent in 2021, 41 percent in 2022, and 45 percent this year, according to the report.

"The food security situation is getting worse, while funding for emergency and long-term livelihood projects is reducing," World Food Program Uganda Deputy Country Director Marcus Prior said.

"We must act urgently and decisively to improve the health and food security situation in Karamoja," he said. "We owe it to our brothers and sisters in the region not to leave anyone behind as we work towards zero hunger by 2030."

"When people are malnourished, they do not have the fuel to work for their goals and reach their full potential, and the country loses out on their contribution," Prior said.

Antonio Querido, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) country representative, called for a structural approach to addressing the key drivers of chronic hunger such as climate-related shocks, high food prices, and crop and livestock pests and diseases.

Munir Safieldin, UNICEF's representative to Uganda, said more support is needed in the region, just like it was in 2022 when government, donor, district, and community support provided life-saving treatment to 30,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and prevented many others from being malnourished.

"There are many children at risk of death if no support is provided for treatment," he said. "It is important for the government, donors, partners, and communities to rise and prevent this scourge from worsening in Karamoja."