By The status of the daily increasing number of refugees in Uganda, a developing country, is still alarming.
Records from the United Nations (UN) show that the country has 1.3 million refugees that left from neighboring countries like Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the largest number of them coming from South Sudan, the war torn country
As a result, the government of Uganda recently held a solidarity summit in the country’s capital (Kampala), in a bid to raise $8b, to help in providing the asylum seekers with a comfortable life away from home. It (Uganda) however in the end collected $358m.
The United States of America’s government in this case, has pledged an additional sh226b ($62.7m), in humanitarian support to the refugees living in Uganda.
The $62.7m, is part of the nearly $639m (sh2.3 trillion) that the US government pledged on July 8, in additional humanitarian assistance.
The funds will go towards supporting the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and World Food Program (WFP) refugee assistance operations in Uganda – says a statement from the US Embassy in Kampala.
“Upon the conclusion of the G20 summit in Germany and Uganda’s Solidarity Summit held on 23 June, the US government announced this contribution which will provide emergency food and nutrition assistance, medical care, and protection towards the people affected by food insecurity and violence in countries like South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen,” the embassy noted.
Considering the current situation in Uganda, the US government mentioned that this ‘influx’ has exerted a lot of pressure on the government of Uganda, the local hosting communities and the international relief organizations to provide basic needs like food, water, shelter, protection among others to the increasing population.
The US is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance in the world, according to the reports.
“The United States of America remains the single largest donor of humanitarian assistance in the affected areas of Uganda. And, as this crisis has grown, so have our contributions,” said Deborah Malac, U.S Ambassador to Uganda.
“But the U.S cannot continue to shoulder the responsibility alone. As needs continue to arise, the rest of the international donor community must step in and contribute,” she added.
Ambassador Deborah concluded by saying that, “the lives of millions, both refugees and the Ugandans hosting them, depend on additional support and assistance.”
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu