South Sudan refugees surge to a million

The number of South Sudan refugees in Uganda has hit the one million mark according to figures released this week by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

According to the agency, the past 12 months have seen an influx of refugees averaging in the regions of 1800 daily. This is in addition to a million or more other South Sudanese refugees being hosted by Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic.

"With refugees still arriving in their thousands, the amount of aid we are able to deliver is increasingly falling short. For Uganda, US$674 million is needed for South Sudanese refugees this year, but so far only a fifth of this amount (21 per cent) has been received." UNHCR revealed.

The funding shortfall in Uganda according to the agency is "now significantly impacting the abilities to deliver life-saving aid and key basic services". This also forced the World Food Programme to cut food rations for refugees.

"Across settlements in northern Uganda, health clinics are being forced to provide vital medical care with too few doctors, healthcare workers and medicines. Schooling meanwhile is also being impacted. Class sizes often exceed 200 pupils, with some lessons held in the open air. Many refugee children are dropping out of education as the nearest schools are too far away for them to easily access" reads the UNHCR statement.

In a related statement, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has since challenged the US and Europe for closing doors on refugees.

"There is tragic irony that when Uganda is accepting its millionth refugee from South Sudan, with thousands more arriving every day, the United States and Europe, with such greater resources, are trying to close the door," said David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee.

Miliband adds that "There is a lesson here.  We should be giving aid to countries like Uganda but we should also be standing with them. If Uganda can open its arms to the vulnerable fleeing war, so can the western world."

"The average Ugandan earns 20 times less than the average European citizen, yet when one million refugees from war-torn Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq arrived in Europe in 2015, the response from too many political leaders was to build walls and fences to try and keep them out, rather than welcoming them to safety." says Miliband. 
 
He added that despite unbelievable challenges, Uganda has shown leadership and compassion on the issue of refugees.

"We hope this can serve as a teaching moment for every country, especially the United States as the administration threatens to break away from the long bipartisan tradition of helping refugees" he said.

In June this year, World leaders including UN General Secretary, Antonio Guterres converged in the East African country for the first Solidarity Summit on Refugees.