Demographic and Health Surveys (UDHS) in 2006 and 2011 revealed that malnutrition
affects atleast one of every five persons in the population. This paper has used
literature review techniques to comprehend the situation of food and nutrition security in
Uganda. The analysis has taken into account DHS results, food insecurity reports, cost of
hunger studies and nutrition profiles reports with complementation from other published
literature related to food and nutrition security in Uganda. From the analysis of 28 publications
cited by this study, it is apparent that malnutrition remains to be a persistent problem
in the country. Childhood stunting, a devastating indicator of chronic malnutrition,
affects 33% of children aged 6 - 59 months while an estimated 26% of the population is at
risk of undernourishment due to food insecurity. Despite the absence of reliable estimates
on micronutrient deficiencies, anaemia and vitamin A deficiency are a challenge among
some of the vulnerable population groups. Within the last decade, Vitamin A deficiency
is estimated to have affected over a quarter of children and women of reproductive age,
while anaemia affects about 5 of every 10 children aged 6 - 59 months and about 1 in 4
of women of reproductive age. Malnutrition and related deprivation have been associated
with failure to ensure adequate dietary intake in infancy and childhood, inadequate intake
of especially animal sourced foods, poor micronutrient intake, and socio-economic constraints
on the household among others. Moreover, the costs of malnutrition on the economy
are an apparent latent challenge as an estimated 5% of the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) is being lost due to combined effects of stunting and other consequences of undernutrition.
It is of the essence that nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive interventions are
financed as strategic national development investments given the implications of nutrition
on sustainable human and economic development.