Today is World Refugee Day under the theme: ‘Standing with Refugees’. And, exactly a year ago, the world gathered in Kampala for the Refugee Solidarity Summit, where over $500m (about sh1.8 trillion) was made in promises by the different countries towards the refuge cause in Uganda. Gloria Nakajubi examines how far the global community has gone in fulfilling their pledge.

Inadequate funding

After all has been said, a health check on the status of the pledge basket indicates that funds enough to cover just 7% of the refugee needs has been realised. Gerald Menya, the acting commissioner in charge of refugees at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), says inadequate funding has led to increased pressure on the social services in the host communities.

The biggest question now remains how far Uganda can stretch in supporting refugees without compromising the livelihoods of the host population. Uganda is currently the third largest refugee hosting country in the world and the largest in Africa.

As of May this year, OPM records showed refugee numbers had hit a total of 1,446,000 hosted in 12 districts. The majority of the refugees are from South Sudan, after their country slipped into a political crisis in 2013.

The largest chunk of the donations, Menya says, was given to the different UN agencies, with the Government receiving only about $1.5m (about sh5.4b) from China and India. The move to channel the funds directly to the agencies is largely attributed to the country’s tainted past financial integrity.

Food challenge

Menya says while the situation is still manageable, the cost of hosting refugees is growing by the day. “You need about $30m for only food every month. So, if the resources are inadequate, the 1.5 million refugees will have to share whatever is available for the host communities,” he explains.

Besides food, Menya says the demand is also too high for shelter and psycho-social support for the trauma many of the refugees have experienced.

“You have women who have been raped almost 10 times before they could cross the border. At every road block manned by combatants, a woman is gang raped before they are let to go,” Menya reveals.

Environmental impact

There is also gross environmental degradation as the refugees together with the host communities depend on trees for fuel. “Just imagine 1.5million people cutting trees for fuel to cook on a daily basis!” Children lack basics A recent study by the Economic Policy Research Centre and Cardiff University established that children in refugee hosting communities were grossly deprived of what was collectively considered essential items.

These include a visit to a health facility when ill, three meals a day, two sets of clothing, toiletries, school fees, own blanket, own bed, shoes, educational toys, gifts at least once a year, among others.

The finding, for instance, indicate that on such variables as own blanket, 70% of refugee children against 61% of host children were deprived, 84% of refugee against 66% of host children never have three meals a day, 51% of refugee against 32% of host children had no toiletries to wash every day and 86% of refugee against 54% of host children never received a gift at least once a year or on special occasions. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS STORY

 

Refugee influx strains host communities

 

Uganda has gained international recognition for hosting thousands of refugees. In fact, the 2016 United Nations Summit for Refugees declared Uganda’s refugee policy a model.

The 2006 Refugee Act and 2010 refugee regulations allow for integration of refugees within host communities with refugees having access to the same public services as nationals, hence putting pressure on the local resources. However, behind this silver lining lies a dark cloud.

Local leaders say the influx of refugees is stretching the limited budget and, therefore, affecting delivery of social services to locals. Saidi Aniku, the LC5 vice-chairman and secretary of finance planning in Yumbe district, says the district has three counties, 13 sub-counties, 111 parishes and 626 villages.

The district has 564,000 natives and hosts a population of about 300,000 refugees in Bidi Bidi settlement. He says some refugees are settled in an integrated model. Aniku says the population increase calls for extra funds for better service delivery. “Yumbe district has a population of about 900,000 people.

However, the number may not be accurate because during the 2014 census, some of our people were still in South Sudan and eastern DR Congo. Some of them returned together with the refugees,” he says. Aniku adds that there are also asylum seekers who have settled on the border points of four subcounties in the district.

“People seeking asylum are not catered for in the budgetary allocations both at national, district and refugee management levels. This exerts pressure on the meagre resources within the district,” he stresses.

In the social sector, Aniku says even before the arrival of refugees, the district had challenges. “The 30 health units, including Yumbe Hospital, were not enough to serve the indigenous population. In terms of accessibility, some units are located 15km from the communities, which is beyond the national average standards,” he says. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS NOTICE 

 

ADVERT

CUAMM

CARITAS

REFUGEE LAW PROJECT

TPO UGANDA

[asset_library_tag 6960a884-4e14-4214-9121-8f63c00adf25,UN WOMEN]