Every day, a staggering number of South Sudanese refugees arrive at Uganda’s northern border in search of safety. Over the past months, their numbers have dramatically increased, with more than 1,800 daily arrivals. Uganda now hosts more than half a million refugees from South Sudan.
Mercy Corps is expanding its programs in northern Uganda to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of these refugees, who have fled an escalation of conflict in their country. We will implement a cash program at the Bidibidi settlement in Yumbe, northern Uganda — it’s the second largest settlement of refugees in the world and home to over 270,000 refugees, two-thirds of which are children.
“Our cash grants will allow refugees to buy what they and their families need most, while also injecting much needed currency into the local economy and supporting local livelihoods,” says Sean Granville-Ross, Mercy Corps Country Director for Uganda. “At Mercy Corps, we believe cash assistance is the most rapid, efficient and dignified manner of providing humanitarian aid.”
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The Mercy Corps program will focus on the most vulnerable groups of South Sudanese refugees, including the elderly, women-headed households, unaccompanied minors and people with disabilities. To help manage conflict in the settlement, the cash-for-work program will be established to provide work opportunities for both refugees and residents of the host communities.
Mercy Corps chose the cash-based response following its market assessment undertaken in November 2016. The study found that marketplaces within the Bidibidi settlement are growing to meet the demands of refugees, and that a cash-based response could stimulate the local economy and support trade.
Mercy Corps has been working in Uganda since 2006 specializing in economic development, financial inclusion, maternal child health and nutrition, resilience, and peacebuilding and conflict management.
Filed by: Meghan Prichard Digital Content Manager