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The refugee economy offers an opportunity for shared growth in Uganda
Ojulo says Uganda’s refugee policy has created an important foundation for this contribution. Uganda stands at the centre of Africa’s refugee story, hosting the largest refugee population on the continent.
Joyce Zainabu poses in her vegetable garden in Rhino Refugee Settlement, West Nile, Uganda.
By: Admin ., Journalist @New Vision
By Sam Tukei Ojulo
For years, conversations about refugees have been framed around crisis. We talk about displacement, food rations, conflict, pressure on public services, donor fatigue and humanitarian need.
These realities are valid. Uganda’s refugee-hosting districts carry enormous responsibility, and many refugee families continue to face difficult conditions. But this is not the whole story.
What if I told you that refugees in Uganda are not only recipients of aid? What if I told you that, with the right support, they are farmers, traders, employers, innovators, producers, customers, taxpayers, labourers, entrepreneurs and contributors to local economic growth?
Uganda’s refugee policy has created an important foundation for this contribution. Uganda stands at the centre of Africa’s refugee story, hosting the largest refugee population on the continent.
As of May 2026, the country was home to over two million refugees and asylum seekers, according to data from UNHCR. However, Uganda allows refugees relative freedom of movement, access to land and the right to engage in income-generating activities.
This progressive approach means that refugees are not locked out of economic participation. They can work, farm, trade, learn, organise and rebuild.
ForAfrika’s work in refugee-hosting areas in Uganda demonstrates this by connecting humanitarian support to livelihoods, food security and self-reliance.
We support communities through agriculture, youth enterprise, farmer groups, skills development, nutrition-sensitive programming and market linkages. This approach treats displaced and host communities as people with capacity, ambition and economic potential.
In Obongi District, the Giant Farmers Group brings together displaced and host community members for agricultural production. Access to land remains one of the biggest challenges for refugees.
As of May 2026, the country was home to over two million refugees and asylum seekers, according to data from UNHCR. However, Uganda allows refugees relative freedom of movement, access to land and the right to engage in income-generating activities.
This progressive approach means that refugees are not locked out of economic participation. They can work, farm, trade, learn, organise and rebuild.
ForAfrika’s work in refugee-hosting areas in Uganda demonstrates this by connecting humanitarian support to livelihoods, food security and self-reliance.
We support communities through agriculture, youth enterprise, farmer groups, skills development, nutrition-sensitive programming and market linkages. This approach treats displaced and host communities as people with capacity, ambition and economic potential.
In Obongi District, the Giant Farmers Group brings together displaced and host community members for agricultural production. Access to land remains one of the biggest challenges for refugees.
Yet, through cooperation with the host community and support from ForAfrika, the group invested in onion production. With improved seed and practical support, their one acre of onions is expected to generate at least UGX 20 million at harvest.
This is income infused into the local economy. It is money that can buy food, pay school costs, support healthcare, expand farming, hire labour and stimulate local trade. Around this production are many other economic actors: agro-input dealers, transporters, local market vendors, casual workers and household consumers.
The harvest does not only benefits the farmers, but it also trickles down to community.
This is the unseen and under-reported contribution of displaced communities. A refugee farmer buys seed from a Ugandan agro-dealer; a host community trader sells food to a refugee household; a youth poultry group buys feeds from a local supplier; a market grows because both displaced communities and Ugandan nationals are trading; a motorcycle rider earns from transporting produce; a shop survives because settlement demand keeps it open.
In this sense, displacement affected communities are not separate from Uganda’s economy, they are an integral part of it.
ForAfrika’s work with young people also challenges the assumption that refugees are trapped permanently in dependency.
In Palorinya Refugee Settlement and other areas of West Nile, young refugees facing reduced food assistance and limited opportunities have organised themselves into groups to pursue livelihoods alternatives.
Through small-scale farming, savings groups and enterprise activities, they are building income pathways in some of the most difficult circumstances. This demonstrates why the refugee economy should be understood as a development opportunity, not only a humanitarian obligation.
Uganda hosts displaced communities in districts that already face poverty, limited infrastructure, shocks from extreme weather events and pressure on public services. If these areas are treated only as emergency zones, they will remain dependent on shrinking aid.
But if they are treated as emerging local economies, the conversation changes. Investment can support production, skills, irrigation, storage, value addition, aggregation, enterprise development and market access. That benefits both displacement affected and host communities.
This is especially crucial amid tightening humanitarian funding. Food rations have declined, donor support is stretched, and many families remain vulnerable. Aid remains essential, particularly for newly displaced communities, children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities and most-at-risk households. But aid alone cannot sustain the future. Lasting resilience depends on enabling people to produce, earn, and engage in markets.
ForAfrika’s Dynamic Development Continuum is a framework that has demonstrated success in this approach that bridges relief with recovery, and ultimately, self-sufficiency.
Linking food security with livelihoods strengthens outcomes, as nutrition improves when households can grow or purchase diverse foods. Access to WASH supports health, which in turn affects productivity.
Engaging youth as entrepreneurs, rather than only beneficiaries, also expands opportunity. Working with both displacement-affected and host communities further supports social cohesion and shared economic benefits.
The debate on displaced communities must therefore move beyond the language of burden. While hosting brings real pressures on services and infrastructure, displaced communities also drive demand, expand markets, contribute labour, produce food, and create businesses.
The private sector has a clear role to play. Refugee-hosting districts need input suppliers, off-takers, processors, financial service providers, training institutions and digital solutions.
Donors, too, should prioritise investments that enable households to become productive, not perpetually dependent. Government can build on this by maintaining policies that allow displaced communities to work and contribute, while ensuring host communities also share in the benefits.
Most importantly, the narrative must shift. Language shapes policy: framing displacement solely as crisis leads to short-term fixes, while recognising contribution encourages long-term solutions which unlock the potential of displaced communities.
Uganda has already demonstrated generosity; the next step is to translate it into shared prosperity for both displacement-affected and host communities, and for the broader economy. This would position Uganda’s refugee response as a progressive development model for Africa.
The writer is the Country Director, ForAfrika Uganda and Co-Chair of the INGO Country Directors’ Network in Uganda
This is income infused into the local economy. It is money that can buy food, pay school costs, support healthcare, expand farming, hire labour and stimulate local trade. Around this production are many other economic actors: agro-input dealers, transporters, local market vendors, casual workers and household consumers.
The harvest does not only benefits the farmers, but it also trickles down to community.
This is the unseen and under-reported contribution of displaced communities. A refugee farmer buys seed from a Ugandan agro-dealer; a host community trader sells food to a refugee household; a youth poultry group buys feeds from a local supplier; a market grows because both displaced communities and Ugandan nationals are trading; a motorcycle rider earns from transporting produce; a shop survives because settlement demand keeps it open.
In this sense, displacement affected communities are not separate from Uganda’s economy, they are an integral part of it.
ForAfrika’s work with young people also challenges the assumption that refugees are trapped permanently in dependency.
In Palorinya Refugee Settlement and other areas of West Nile, young refugees facing reduced food assistance and limited opportunities have organised themselves into groups to pursue livelihoods alternatives.
Through small-scale farming, savings groups and enterprise activities, they are building income pathways in some of the most difficult circumstances. This demonstrates why the refugee economy should be understood as a development opportunity, not only a humanitarian obligation.
Uganda hosts displaced communities in districts that already face poverty, limited infrastructure, shocks from extreme weather events and pressure on public services. If these areas are treated only as emergency zones, they will remain dependent on shrinking aid.
But if they are treated as emerging local economies, the conversation changes. Investment can support production, skills, irrigation, storage, value addition, aggregation, enterprise development and market access. That benefits both displacement affected and host communities.
This is especially crucial amid tightening humanitarian funding. Food rations have declined, donor support is stretched, and many families remain vulnerable. Aid remains essential, particularly for newly displaced communities, children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities and most-at-risk households. But aid alone cannot sustain the future. Lasting resilience depends on enabling people to produce, earn, and engage in markets.
ForAfrika’s Dynamic Development Continuum is a framework that has demonstrated success in this approach that bridges relief with recovery, and ultimately, self-sufficiency.
Linking food security with livelihoods strengthens outcomes, as nutrition improves when households can grow or purchase diverse foods. Access to WASH supports health, which in turn affects productivity.
Engaging youth as entrepreneurs, rather than only beneficiaries, also expands opportunity. Working with both displacement-affected and host communities further supports social cohesion and shared economic benefits.
The debate on displaced communities must therefore move beyond the language of burden. While hosting brings real pressures on services and infrastructure, displaced communities also drive demand, expand markets, contribute labour, produce food, and create businesses.
The private sector has a clear role to play. Refugee-hosting districts need input suppliers, off-takers, processors, financial service providers, training institutions and digital solutions.
Donors, too, should prioritise investments that enable households to become productive, not perpetually dependent. Government can build on this by maintaining policies that allow displaced communities to work and contribute, while ensuring host communities also share in the benefits.
Most importantly, the narrative must shift. Language shapes policy: framing displacement solely as crisis leads to short-term fixes, while recognising contribution encourages long-term solutions which unlock the potential of displaced communities.
Uganda has already demonstrated generosity; the next step is to translate it into shared prosperity for both displacement-affected and host communities, and for the broader economy. This would position Uganda’s refugee response as a progressive development model for Africa.
The writer is the Country Director, ForAfrika Uganda and Co-Chair of the INGO Country Directors’ Network in Uganda