Military personnel unload relief food from a truck in Kampala, capital of Uganda, April 4, 2020. Uganda on Saturday started relief food distribution to about 1.5 million urban poor who are affected by the lockdown as a measure to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)
KAMPALA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Saturday started relief food distribution to about 1.5 million urban poor who are affected by the lockdown as a measure to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda flagged off the door-to-door food distribution which started in Bwaise, a suburb in the capital Kampala.
"We have today flagged off a government relief food distribution program to vulnerable individuals who have been affected by lockdown measures," said Rugunda.
"The focus will be making sure the elderly, sick and pregnant women are taken into account. To ensure social distance, the relief food is going to be distributed house to house, door to door. There will be no lining and no semblance of crowding," he said.
According the ministry of relief and disaster preparedness, the beneficiaries include the elderly, sickly, lactating mothers and commuter taxi drivers in Kampala and neighboring central district of Wakiso.
The package will include 6 kg of maize flour per person, 3 kg of beans per person, and salt. The lactating mothers and the sick will receive 2 kgs of powdered milk and 2kgs of sugar.
The country is under lockdown as a measure to contain the spread of the disease.
Currently the country has 48 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
