By Spy Uganda
The European Union Commission will provide €331 million in humanitarian aid primarily targeting food insecurity as well as addressing the needs of displaced persons and refugees, disaster preparedness, and education in emergencies in Uganda.
The EU says Uganda is confronted with the impact of instability in neighbouring countries, with more than 95 000 new refugees arriving in 2022, either fleeing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo or the instability in South Sudan.
”As the country hosting the largest number of refugees in Africa (1.5 million), the government pursues a progressive and inclusive policy towards refugees and has signed-up since 2018 to the UN Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), for which its policies are the inspiring model,” says EU adding; ”This model is, however, at risk in a context of economic crisis, with growing numbers of refugees, increased tensions with host communities and reduced funding available for the refugee response. The country is also affected by numerous natural disasters and exposed to epidemics, such as Ebola. The Northeast region of Karamoja is impacted by the drought with 518 000 persons in IPC3+ (41 % of the population of the region).”
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, stressed: “We have mobilized substantial financial resources to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Greater Horn of Africa. Humanitarian needs are at their highest ever in some countries, with the situation being particularly dire in Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan.
”The drought in the Horn of Africa, combined with the repercussions of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, have resulted in unprecedented levels of food insecurity. Conflict and climate-change related hazards continue to result in internal displacement, and cross-border refugee flows. Our response is not limited to funding – in 2022, for example, we organised a series of Humanitarian Air Bridge flights delivering life-saving aid to hard-to-reach areas of Somalia. We will continue working, with our humanitarian partners on the ground, to deliver aid to those who need it the most.”
EU support to Uganda will focus on life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable refugees and their host communities. Universal access to quality basic services delivery and the provision of household-level assistance to refugees and host communities will be supported on a multi-sectoral basis.
”Provision of multi-purpose and unconditional cash, risk informed and targeted based on socio-economic vulnerability and the protection concerns, will remain central to the response to address basic needs of the most vulnerable,” says EU adding that the support will also continue to strengthen local disaster preparedness to address the multiplicity of crises including epidemics, new refugee influxes and natural hazards by ensuring effective linkages between early warning and early action.
