By Ezaruku Draku Franklin

A Ugandan Cryptocurrency firm has launched a fundraising campaign to provide food for the starving population in Karamoja region. The region has witnessed increasing famine with hundreds of people confirmed dead and thousands others starving.

Crypto Savannah Foundation, a non-profit is the foundation arm of the technology company Crypto Savannah, which is at the forefront of Africa’s block chain and innovation ecosystem says the situation in Karamoja requires urgent intervention which must be handled.

Noah Baalessanvu, the head of technology at Crypto Savannah says food insecurity has been a recurring problem in the nine Karamoja districts where people in the region experience high levels of acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse. He says data from WFP indicates that 361,000 people in Karamoja are affected by the food scarcity crisis with key drivers being the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and high food prices.

Baalessanvu said a fundraising portal that accepts the use of crypto as mode of exchange or donation has been created to allow individuals, organizations and the crypto community to participate in this initiative.

 “We have identified 100 households with 5-7 family members for the first phase of donation which each household consuming food items worth Shs232,000 (USD62) per month. The food provided is dry ratio foods that include maize, millet and soya flour, beans, sugar, salt and cooking oil. What we are doing is we creating a platform where donors can send money to feed people in Karamoja region, Baalessanvu said.

He said the worst affected districts are Kaabong, Kotido and Moroto registering the highest malnutrition levels at 18.6%. He said all the money donated will go towards purchasing food to feed the dying population.

“Crypto Savannah foundation has stepped up to respond to the urgent need of saving lives in the region, calling upon every citizen and person to give and raise funds that will be used to purchase food items for families in the region. Having attended to the emergency need, Crypto Savannah foundation will proceed to a campaign that will equip natives of the Karamoja region with best farming practices for semi-arid areas to address food insecurity in the long term,” he said.

How the funds will be donated

Crypto Savannah Foundation is running a collective intervention initiative to feed families and save lives in Karamoja through two fundraising solutions. One can either donate through the website, or alternatively through the phone using USSD code.

“To donate you can send any of these currencies to wallet addresses provided through your wallet provider or Binusu Exchange accessed on www.binusu.com. We are leveraging emerging financial technology to improve transparency and accountability of donations received and funds allocation,” Baalessanvu said.

“We have set up a code to facilitate donations via mobile money from citizens all over the country. The USSD can be accessed on both smart and GSM devices with no need for internet access. Simply follow the steps when you dial (USSD Code) and funds will be allocated from your mobile money wallet to our fundraising portal,” he added.

Baalessanvu said with crypto currency, it is easier to track the money up to the intended beneficiaries. He has called on all people of good will to support the cause to save Karamajongs from starvation.

Data from Office of Prime Minister indicates that 8 in every 10 Karimojong have no food, only two in 10 have stocks enough to last a month, while three percent will be able to feed themselves for the next 90 days.

The State Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Ms Esther Anyakun, recently told parliament that famine situation in Karamoja Sub-region is so dire that 517,800 representing 41 per cent of the population have been at risk of food shortage between March and July.