Uganda provides a home to nearly 1.7 million refugees and asylum-seekers, the highest number in Africa, most of whom come from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Refugees receive food rations at a food distribution point in West Nile region. © UNHCR/Yonna Tukundane
In Uganda, forcibly displaced people receive protection thanks to the country’s decades-long policy of assisting refugees. UNHCR is supporting the government’s efforts towards implementing the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, which entails aiding both refugees and the communities hosting them with emergency support and increasing the self-reliance of refugees by integrating them into national systems and providing them with tools to shape their future. Examples of this include the UNHCR facilitating access to basic education for refugee children by supporting teacher salaries and providing vocational training to help refugees find employment.
On average, 2,500 people arrive in Uganda every week. The continued influx of refugees has put a strain on Uganda’s protection regime. Despite these challenges, UNHCR and its partners, in coordination with the government, continue to provide protection and ensure that displaced persons are adequately included in society. This inclusion is facilitated through access to education, healthcare, professional training, and incorporation into national systems. Other measures provided by UNHCR, such as cash-based interventions and the distribution of tools and cropland to refugees, enhance financial inclusion, food security, and self-reliance.
In addition, UNHCR is fostering conditions that enable safe and dignified voluntary return to their home countries. For example, since December 2020, UNHCR has facilitated the voluntary repatriation of over 13,700 Burundian refugees who had sought asylum in Uganda. Additionally, UNHCR is working on expanding access to resettlement in third countries and other complementary pathways.
Resettlement is an invaluable tool to protect refugees in perilous situations or that have specific needs that cannot be addressed in the country where they have sought protection. Sweden has resettled from Uganda and long been an important partner for resettlement – both in terms of resettling refugees, as well as supporting UNHCR and the capacity of the global resettlement system.
Policies that offer opportunities for self-reliance and dignity to refugees offer them an opportunity to shape their futures but also bolster regional stability. As the refugee population continues to grow worldwide, it is more important than ever to ensure that generous policies are sustained.Sweden recognizes that fostering self-reliance is essential for helping people move beyond long-term dependency on humanitarian aid and gain agency.Equally important is to include refugees in national services, for example education, and this means ensuring that the systems are sufficiently resourced. Therefore, ongoing support for UNHCR and partners is crucial in this regard.
Sweden’s contribution to UNHCR’s efforts in Uganda continue to help support Uganda’s commitment to refugee protection, delivering lifesaving assistance to those in need, and enabling self-reliance among refugees.
© UNHCR/Yonna Tukundane
UNHCR and partners in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda are relocating refugees from unsafe areas near the border to settlements where lifesaving assistance is provided. In reception centers refugees are registered and their needs assessed. Approximately, 23% of Sudanese refugees decide to reside in the country’s capital Kampala while the rest mostly settle in Kiryadongo refugee settlement and benefit from some humanitarian assistance including food, education, health care and emergency shelter items.
Enoch is a refugee who has lived in Nakivale refugee settlement for over 10 years. He is part of a group of refugees that are planting trees and promoting energy saving cooking methods. © UNHCR/Yonna Tukundane
UNHCR and its partners are committed to addressing food security and enhancing the self-reliance of refugees. Recently, in Kiryandongo refugee settlement, 105 refugees were trained in environmental conservation, focusing on planting fruit, shade, and timber trees through agroforestry around their homes and woodlots. They also learned how to use fuel-efficient cookstoves and properly manage waste.
A convoy of Burundi refugees that were in Nakivale refugee settlement on their way to return to their home country. They received some cash to facilitate their needs in travel and reintegration at home. © UNHCR/Yonna Tukundane
Over 3,500 households in Kiryandongo settlement have received cash-based interventions assistance to facilitate their settlement in allocated plots. Measures such as these ensure greater dignity and choice for refugees, contributing to financial inclusion and local economies. From the beginning of the year to March, some 900 new families gained access to bank accounts and some 7,600 families to mobile money accounts, setting them on the pathway for financial inclusion.
Moments after a new motorized borehole was opened up and refugees were collecting water while the water teams were still present. © UNHCR/Yonna Tukundane
UNHCR, together with partners, is continuing to provide water, sanitation, and hygiene services across the region. Recently, UNHCR carried out infrastructure improvements in Kiryandongo refugee settlement, in western Uganda, addressing leaks and restoring normal water supply. In addition, emergency communal latrines and bath shelters were built to improve sanitation conditions for new arrivals.
Sweden as a donor to UNHCR:
Sweden is one of UNHCR’s most important strategic partners and a generous donor. The SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) contribution to Uganda amounts to USD 1.1 million, or SEK 11 million. In 2023, Sweden provided USD 137.3 million to UNHCR, making it our fifth biggest government donor and eighth biggest donor per capita. Thus far in 2024, Sweden has contributed USD 90.6 M in unearmarked funding – which is vital to UNHCR’s services and enables the agency to quickly scale up its response in new emergencies and protracted situations. Sweden is UNHCR’s biggest multi-year donor of unearmarked funding, and in 2023, USD 85.2 million of Sweden’s overall funding was unearmarked.
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