• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
Home Africa

Coronavirus screening at borders slow down food deliveries in East Africa

30 May 2020, 10:58 AM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
The UN World Food Programme is shipping in 2 000 tonnes of beans and cooking oil to feed some of Uganda’s 1.4 million refugees

The UN World Food Programme is shipping in 2 000 tonnes of beans and cooking oil to feed some of Uganda’s 1.4 million refugees

The UN World Food Programme is shipping in 2 000 tonnes of beans and cooking oil to feed some of Uganda’s 1.4 million refugees

Bottlenecks at borders as government screen lorry drivers to contain the coronavirus are putting the delivery of vital food supplies in East Africa at risk, the United Nations’ UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday.

“We could have problems feeding our beneficiaries…if the situation doesn’t improve,” Julie MacDonald, WFP’s deputy director in Uganda told Reuters. She said they only had enough food left for June.

The agency is shipping in 2 000 tonnes of beans and cooking oil to feed some of Uganda’s 1.4 million refugees. Some of it is stuck at Kenya’s Mombasa port and some are stuck at the Ugandan border, she said.

The line of lorries at the border town of Busia between Kenya and Uganda stretched 60 kilometres (37 miles) this week, said Mercy Ireri, an official from the Kenya Transport Association.

Kenya’s port of Mombasa and Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam are the main gateway to the Indian Ocean for several landlocked nations, including Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Uganda requires truck drivers from neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania to take coronavirus tests before they are allowed to enter. Tests are also being carried out on the Tanzania-Kenya border. But delays in returning results has forced truckers to wait for up seven days, said Jackson Katende, spokesman of the Ugandan cargo transport industry body.

“Business is at a standstill,” he said.

Paralysis at the Uganda-Kenya border, he said, had more than doubled the time for goods to move from Mombasa to the Ugandan capital Kampala and raised costs by up to 40%.

Uganda started imposing restrictions on truckers in late April after incoming drivers increasingly tested positive for the disease.

Africa has so far reported nearly 130 000 cases of the new coronavirus and 3 790 deaths, lower than many other continents, possibly due to its much younger population and early lockdowns by many African nations.

But authorities are on high alert because any spike could overwhelm decrepit health systems.

Uganda is the main transit point for cargo from Mombasa en route to Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Share article
Tags: United Nations World Food Programme
Previous Post

EFF accepts Constitutional Court ruling on appeal application

Next Post

Non-contact sport can resume under Level 3 lockdown: Mthethwa

Related Posts

Pope Francis greets people during the Holy Mass at John Garang Mausoleum, during his apostolic journey, in Juba, South Sudan, February 5, 2023.

Pope Francis wraps up South Sudan trip, urges end to ‘blind fury’ of violence

5 February 2023, 11:55 AM
People attend the ecumenical prayer led by Pope Francis at John Garang Mausoleum during his apostolic journey, in Juba, South Sudan, February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Jok Solomun

Protect, advance women for a better South Sudan, pope says

4 February 2023, 9:09 PM
Pope Francis greets people before his meeting with Roman Catholic bishops at CENCO (National Episcopal Conference of Congo), during his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo February 3, 2023

Pope wraps up Congo visit, heads to volatile South Sudan

3 February 2023, 12:36 PM
Zimbabwean flag

Helping Zimbabwean permit holders not a political ploy: Ambassador

2 February 2023, 7:13 PM
File: An overview of the Niger delta where signs of oil spills can be seen in the water in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Nigerian communities file damages claim against Shell

2 February 2023, 6:09 PM
A Zimbabwean Permit from Home Affairs.

Zimbabwean embassy in SA to launch bid for the return of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders

2 February 2023, 10:40 AM
Next Post
Mthethwa says all professional athletes who participate in contact and non-contact sport can start training from Monday

Non-contact sport can resume under Level 3 lockdown: Mthethwa

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Registration at Unisa closes on Friday, but management says no need to panic
  • King of Bacardi music ‘Vusi Ma R5’ killed in Soshanguve
  • Committee wants to halt planned demolition of North West hospital
  • VIDEO: Mabuza resigns as SA Deputy President
  • Shock over proposed SA sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur
  • Parts of the Northern Cape to be exempted from rolling blackouts
  • Registration at Unisa closes on Friday, but management says no need to panic
  • VIDEO | St Benedict College’s Matric learner gets 11 distinctions
  • Limpopo matriculant from child-headed household attains diploma pass
  • Female circumcision practice thriving in Eastern Cape
  • VIDEO: Mabuza resigns as SA Deputy President
  • Budding Stellenbosch FC star reportedly stabbed to death
  • EFF vows to disrupt SONA
  • Green comet to be visible from SA next week
  • Communities in Free State continue to struggle to obtain basic services amid power cuts

LATEST

Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela.
  • Politics

Mxolisi Dukwana touted to replace Sisi Ntombela as Free State premier


Pope Francis greets people during the Holy Mass at John Garang Mausoleum, during his apostolic journey, in Juba, South Sudan, February 5, 2023.
  • Africa

Pope Francis wraps up South Sudan trip, urges end to ‘blind fury’ of violence


FILE PHOTO: Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, addresses his supporters after his arrival from Dubai at Jinnah International airport in Karachi March 24, 2013
  • World

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf dies in Dubai after years in exile


Deputy President David Mabuza convenes a meeting with senior government officials at the Union Buildings in Pretoria in this picture taken on 05 December 2019.
  • Politics

Mabuza asked to remain in his role until transition finalised


File Image: Rescue workers and vehicles stand by at the scene of the Lily mine collapse near Barberton in Mpumalanga on 05 February 2016.
  • South Africa

Families of Lily Mine victims still searching for answers seven years on


A green comet named Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which last passed by our planet about 50,000 years ago and is expected to be most visible to stargazers this week, is seen journeying tens of millions of miles (km) away from Earth in this telescope image taken on January 21, 2023.
  • Sci-tech

Green comet to be visible from SA next week


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2022

Previous EFF accepts Constitutional Court ruling on appeal application
Next Non-contact sport can resume under Level 3 lockdown: Mthethwa