Hunger Drives Uganda’s Mothers Up Mountains in Search of Gold

Adong is one of the mothers working at a quarry on Mount Moroto, where women spend hours breaking rocks while exposed to dust, sharp stones, intense sunlight and difficult mountain conditions.

Women in Uganda's Karamoja Region are climbing steep mountain slopes with their children beside them, crushing heavy rocks in the hope of finding small traces of gold that can be exchanged for food. Their work is exhausting, dangerous and poorly paid, yet hunger has left many mothers with few choices as families struggle through worsening food shortages, repeated climate shocks, rising household debt and livelihoods that have failed to recover.

More than 40,000 people across Karamoja are experiencing Phase 4 food insecurity under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system, meaning households face severe hunger and may barely manage one meal a day. Another 432,000 people are in Phase 3, where families experience serious food consumption gaps and are forced to sell essential belongings, borrow money or take on hazardous work to survive.

Mothers Bring Their Children Into Harsh Quarry Conditions

Adong is one of the mothers working at a quarry on Mount Moroto, where women spend hours breaking rocks while exposed to dust, sharp stones, intense sunlight and difficult mountain conditions. Her breastfeeding baby accompanies her because leaving the child behind is not possible, even though she understands that the quarry is no place for an infant already facing the risks created by hunger and poor nutrition.

"I came to the mountains to provide for my family," Adong said. "I know the conditions are harsh for a baby here, but I had to bring him because he is still breastfeeding."

Her experience reflects the painful calculations being made by families across Karamoja, where earning even a small amount of money can decide whether children eat that day. Mothers may know their children need medical attention, nutrition screening or vaccination, yet travelling to a health facility can require hours away from work and the loss of income needed to buy food.

Acute Malnutrition Threatens Thousands of Young Children

Moroto has the highest acute malnutrition rate in Karamoja, with one in every five children under the age of five affected. An estimated 122,000 young children across the region require treatment for acute malnutrition, placing enormous pressure on families, community health volunteers and facilities serving settlements scattered across a wide and difficult landscape.

Finding a malnourished child is only the first step, since treatment must begin quickly and continue consistently to protect the child from illness, developmental harm or death. Distance, transport costs, lost wages and caregivers' daily struggle to secure food can delay care, leaving vulnerable children without support during a critical period.

Health workers recognised that the Mount Moroto quarry brought together mothers, babies, young men and traders who were unlikely to visit a clinic during working hours. A nutrition outreach team from Kakingol Health Centre III climbed to the quarry in June 2026, taking essential services directly to the people who needed them.

Health Workers Carry Lifesaving Care Up Mount Moroto

Supported by UNICEF and the OCHA-managed Uganda Humanitarian Fund, the outreach team worked alongside a Village Health Team of community volunteers to establish health and nutrition services at the quarry. During a single morning, more than 60 children, including Adong's baby, received nutrition screening and vaccinations without their caregivers having to abandon a full day's earnings.

Mobile outreach offers a practical lifeline for families whose survival depends on informal and hazardous work. Care delivered near workplaces allows health teams to identify malnutrition earlier, connect children with treatment and provide routine vaccinations while respecting the economic pressures that keep caregivers away from distant facilities.

Humanitarian partners have reached nearly 700,000 people in Karamoja and Uganda's refugee-hosting districts with lifesaving nutrition and health services since April. The climb made by the Kakingol team shows what responsive care can look like: health workers meeting families where hunger has pushed them, even when that place is a dusty quarry high on a mountain.