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KAMPALA. – Faced with the sharp increase in prices of everyday products, Ugandans are struggling to make ends meet. Authorities are blaming the situation on the long term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the raging war in Ukraine.

With her meager salary of US$5 per day, Susan Wasige can no longer afford to get soap which costs US$2 or even cooking oil sold at US$4, to support herself and her three children. “We can barely buy anything. For weeks now, I have been giving the children food only boiled in water, sometimes when I get margarine, I mix it in the sauce so they can eat it. We even give up sugar because we can’t afford it, everything is very expensive “, said the Kampala resident.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, vegetable oil prices rose another 23 percent in March. The Ugandan state minister of Finance, tried to calm the population in a Parliament address two weeks ago, saying his country wasn’t the only one affected by these challenges.

“The situation has been worsened by the Russian-Ukraine conflict which has further disrupted the supply of oil, cereals such as wheat, corn, sunflower oil as well as essential metals like aluminium and nickel. The two countries are major producers and exporters of these commodities,” said David Bahati. – Africanews.com