When crops fail - because of drought, or floods, or warfare - people go hungry and families suffer.Sometimes, entire regions share in the suffering. In northeastern Uganda, there are currently 1.2 million people in need of food, according to the World Food Programme.

Food and nutrition issues can affect anyone living in poverty or at the mercy of the weather to make a living. One bad season can be enough to drive entire communities to the brink of survival.

"I have not cooked anything today, I don't even know what the kids are going to eat today," says Lochoro, a 38 year old mother of five, from the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda.

Karamoja, a land of nomadic pastoralists, has not seen rain since May 2008 and the drought has led to critical food shortages. The situation is compounded by insecurity, with gun-wielding warriors from the Karamojong clans raiding cattle from each other and causing the displacement of thousands of people.

Breadwinners like Lochoro are being forced to resort to extreme measures in order to feed their children. Some are cutting down trees to make charcoal, further damaging the fragile environment. Others have moved to neighbouring districts to look for work or beg for money. Some have also begun stealing food.

Karamoja’s food problems have been heightened by recent floods that have destroyed crops in neighbouring districts. Food prices have doubled, making it almost impossible for people like Lochoro to buy food. This is causing widespread severe malnutrition.

World Vision is working with the World Food Programme to distribute food to thousands of people in the Karamoja region, but there are currently not enough resources to help all those, like Lochoro, who need to know where their next meal will come from.