US give Uganda sh800b for refugees

The United States has contributed $221m (sh800b) towards humanitarian assistance for refugee operations in Uganda during the 2017, the US Embassy in Kampala has said.

This contribution (from October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017), supported protection and multi sectoral assistance, including emergency food and nutrition assistance, medical care, water, livelihoods, and prevention and response to gender-based violence, to refugees in Uganda as well as their Ugandan host communities.

"The refugee situation in Uganda has reached crisis proportions.  As of September 2017, there are more than 1.3 million refugees in the country - including nearly one million who have sought safety from the violence in South Sudan - as well as refugees from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere," read a statement from the Embassy. 

This refugee influx has placed increased pressure on the Government of Uganda, local hosting districts, and relief organizations to provide food, shelter, protection, water, and other basic life-saving services.

To address this crisis, the U.S Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) provided nearly $135m (sh489b) in humanitarian assistance to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and multiple non-governmental organizations for protection and multi-sectoral lifesaving assistance for refugees and host communities.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided more than $86m (sh312b) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for food assistance to refugees. 

"More than three quarters of this support was for local and regional procurement of commodities that permits the U.S government to feed more refugees in a more timely fashion, while also benefiting Ugandan farmers," the statement said.

USAID is also leveraging development resources to build self-reliance and resilience among the refugees and Ugandans in refugee-hosting districts. The US is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance in Uganda and the world.