UN allocates sh9b for Uganda refugee crisis

The United Nations has released $2.5 million (approximately sh9b) in emergency funding to scale up life-saving humanitarian assistance for thousands of refugees fleeing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Uganda.

The funds, provided through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), will enable three UN agencies to continue delivering critical services such as food, nutrition, water, medical care, and protection for refugees in their first two weeks of arrival.

The UN agencies are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN World Food Programme (WFP), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

According to a statement from the UN released today (June 10, 2025), the response will focus on Uganda’s overstretched transit and reception centres in Kabazana, Nyakabande, and Matanda in the southwest sub-region.

Uganda, Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country, has seen a dramatic increase in new arrivals, with more than 65,000 Congolese refugees arriving from January to May 2025, bringing the number of refugees in the country to nearly 1.9 million.

Many refugees, mainly from Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan, are arriving IN Uganda traumatised, malnourished, and in urgent need of care after harrowing journeys.

The refugees will be recognised based on their household characteristics linked to food, protection risks and their years of stay in Uganda. The categories include highly vulnerable to food security, vulnerable to food insecurity and least vulnerable to food security.

“We are grateful for this timely and urgently needed contribution from the UN CERF. It comes at a moment when our capacities are severely stretched and will be a step in the right direction to help us provide urgent support to the thousands of people arriving in search of international protection and assistance,” said Leonard Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda.

Zulu said emergency response funding and strong partnerships are critical to sustaining Uganda’s progressive refugee policy and continuing dignified support for all refugees.

Matthew Crentsil, UNHCR Representative in Uganda, said, “This CERF allocation will enable us to provide immediate and essential services such as clean water, health care, and protection at reception centres operating far beyond capacity. Timely and targeted support like this is critical to sustaining a coordinated emergency response.”

With food pipelines under threat, the UN WFP warned of serious consequences without swift support.

“This CERF funding is a lifeline. It helps us prevent a full-blown food crisis within an already dire humanitarian emergency,” said Marcus Prior, WFP Country Director. He said it enables them to deliver immediate food and nutrition support when refugees need it at the point of arrival to Uganda.

UNICEF is focusing on child health, as malnutrition rates soar among new arrivals.

“We are seeing children arrive in extremely weakened states, many suffering from malaria and severe malnutrition,” said Robin Nandy, UNICEF Representative in Uganda.

He added, “This funding will allow us to scale up emergency nutrition services by continuing to screen and treat malnourished children and provide life-saving health interventions for those most in need.”

The Government of Uganda welcomed the support, calling it a timely boost as the country struggles to manage an escalating humanitarian emergency amid dwindling donor resources.

War in DRC, Sudan

The development comes following several attempts to bring DRC and M23 to the negotiating table with calls from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community calling for the resumption of direct negotiations.

Recently, the East African Community and SADC jointly announced that they had designated former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as the facilitators of their joint peace process in the DRC.

However, the DRC president Felix Tshisekedi has since snubbed talks with M23, branding it a terror outfit.

The M23 rebels have captured numerous cities and townships, including Goma and Bukavu, the capital cities of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, respectively.

The mineral-rich eastern DRC remains a hotspot of conflict, with various groups vying for control over resources such as coltan, tin, tantalum, and gold.

More than 650,000 Congolese, mainly women and children, have arrived in neighbouring Burundi since February for international protection. In North Kivu, over 500,000 people were forced to flee their homes in January alone.

Meanwhile, more than 130,000 people have been displaced from South Sudan since fighting between government and opposition forces escalated in February this year.

The war followed disagreements between South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar.