The UN IRIN reports that a joint survey of internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps has shown that mortality rates for children in northern Uganda are above emergency levels.

Of the estimated 1.4 million IDPs in the conflict-ridden region, of whom 80 percent are women and children, the survey's preliminary findings reveal that crude mortality rates and under-five mortality rates are above the emergency thresholds of one death per 10,000 per day and two deaths per 10,000 per day respectively.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is faced with a 46 percent funding shortfall in the over US $40 million it requires to deal effectively with the crisis, UN News reported.

ReliefWeb reports that the Ugandan Human Rights Commission, a body of the Ugandan government, has revealed that "by the end of 2004, out of the 26,000 children abducted by the LRA, 4,000 were still unaccounted for in northern Uganda." Many of the children are able to escape or are rescued by the UPDF. Of the 4,000 still missing, many may be child soldiers within the LRA or been killed by LRA rebels or UPDF forces.