SITUATION HIGHLIGHTS
- 1 Million+ South Sudan refugees in Uganda
- 602,021 new refugee arrivals in 2017
- 62% child refugees from South Sudan in Uganda
- 82% of South Sudan refugees in Uganda are women and children
- 1.39 Million total number of refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
• Refugees continue to arrive: Uganda continues to receive daily new arrivals from South Sudan. An average of 150+ displaced people are crossing into Uganda daily with 81% being women and children.
Uganda is hosting more than a million refugees from South Sudan.
These are in dire need of basic necessities such as food, shelter, water, clothing and proper health care.
• New humanitarian aid appeal launched: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Filippo Grandi, visited refugee settlements in northern Uganda in January, where after he launched a new funding appeal for US$1.5 billion to support refugees fleeing worsening humanitarian situation in South Sudan. Uganda, the largest host with over a million refugees, could end up hosting a quarter million more refugees in 2018.
• Growing fears over chronic under funding: In 2017 the UNHCR appealed for USD 674 Million for the South Sudan refugee crisis in Uganda but by January 2018 only 34 per cent of this had been realized.
Donor funding continues to shrink, limiting the capacity of agencies like World Vision to deliver assistance to all affected communities. Most of the key sector interventions such as food assistance, WASH, health, livelihoods, child protection are already over stretched by the refugee influx.
• This is a children’s crisis: Sixtytwo per cent of the refugee population are some children who have escaped in absence of their parents or guardians. Some have witnessed their parents killed in cold blood. World Vision, working with its donors like UNHCR and UNICEF, has been able to place over 1,500 unaccompanied/ separated refugee children in foster care. Foster families have been supported with cash grants to set up small businesses and to buy a household items but more is still needed.
• World Vision continues to serve:
World Vision is responding in the 5 districts of Arua, Koboko, Moyo,
Yumbe and Adjumani. World Vision is doing food/cash assistance, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, reception centre management, and livelihoods empowerment. However, more is still needed to meet the basics and long term needs of the refugees.
• Inclusivity: There is need for profound attention to engage the refugee and host community to address negative impacts such as limited energy sources (firewood, wood for construction) that continue to increase the rate of deforestation, limited livelihoods coupled with increased market prices for food items that have caused inter-communal tension.