The aid, consisting of grain, pulses, vegetable seed and tools (axes, hoes, cutlasses and sickles), will be delivered to 50 camps located in Gulu, Amuru, Oyam, Kitgum and Pader districts in northern Uganda. "We are also distributing clothing fabric, sanitary towels, school kits and soap to make people's lives easier," said Michel Meyer, head of the ICRC delegation in Uganda.

Over 50 volunteers from the Uganda Red Cross Society and 36 ICRC staff will take part in the operation, which is planned to last until the end of March.

"Provided that agricultural conditions and rainfall are favourable and people can safely work in their fields, we are confident that this aid will help make the recipients more self-sufficient," said Peter Schamberger, who coordinates the ICRC's economic security programme in Uganda.

It is estimated that the conflict in Uganda has forced over 1.7 million people to live in camps for the displaced. The ICRC is currently striving to improve the living conditions of some 770,000 people in 64 camps by means of different water, sanitation, health and material aid programmes.