UNHCR and WFP Representatives host visit to Mahama Camp for Head of UK Department for International Development in Rwanda

Mahama camp - 8 March 2016: The UN Refugee Agency’s Representative, Mr. Saber Azam, and World Food Programme Representative, Mr. Jean-Pierre de Margerie, hosted Ms. Laure Beaufils, the head of office for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Rwanda, today in a visit to Mahama refugee camp. Established in April 2015, Mahama has rapidly expanded to become the largest refugee camp in Rwanda, presently hosting over 47,000 refugees from Burundi. The purpose of the visit was to mark International Women’s Day in the camp—where a full day program of activities was underway including an exhibition by a women’s arts and crafts collective and discussion with a women’s social therapy group. The delegation was also overseeing progress in the Burundi refugee response, for which UK DFID has been one of the most important donors.

Since late March 2015, over 77,000 refugees have fled to Rwanda from Burundi as a result of tension and violence linked to the elections in the country—of which 75% are women and children. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) and UNHCR are jointly leading the emergency refugee response, for which key partners include WFP and other UN agencies as well as Rwandan and international NGOs. The international community support to UNHCR and WFP for their emergency response to the Burundi refugee influx in 2015 was very generous, with UK DFID alone contributing GBP 3 million to UNHCR and GBP 1.3 million to WFP.

DFID’s £ 3 million contribution was instrumental for UNHCR to provide thousands of newly arriving refugees with access to emergency shelter, primary health care as well as access to water and sanitation facilities—all critical for refugees to be safe and to prevent outbreaks of disease. DFID also supported UNHCR’s interventions to protect refugee children and prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence in Mahama camp—essential especially given the high number of children who arrived as refugees without their families. “I am pleased to welcome Ms. Beaufils in Mahama camp, so that she can see the results achieved by UNHCR, WFP and all our partners thanks to the generous contribution from DFID in 2015,” said Azam. “Women play so many critical roles in refugee situations—at the family level, but also at the community and camp leadership level, and we are very honored to celebrate the women of Mahama today and highlight the importance of protection for women in our refugee operation.”

© UNHCR

DFID’s £ 1,310,000 contribution to WFP facilitated its purchase of food commodities for nutrition activities as well as the monthly general food distribution provided to Burundian refugees hosted in Mahama. These commodities include maize, beans, salt, vegetable oil and highly nutritious fortified food. “We greatly appreciate the generous contribution from the UK government, which has proven crucial to WFP’s uninterrupted provision of general food distribution and targeted nutrition assistance for Burundian refugees hosted in Rwandan camps. This population is entirely dependent on food assistance and has very limited access to other food sources. On this International Women’s day we would like to underscore that women and children are always at the heart of WFP’s assistance as the most vulnerable receive additional food supplements to meet their nutritional needs”, said Mr. de Margerie.

In 2016, the total needs for the Burundi refugee response for all UN and NGO actors are estimated at over USD 94.5 million, however thus far only USD 4.8 million has been received by UNHCR and other agencies—coverage of only about 5% of the operation’s estimated cost. “On behalf of all UN agencies and NGOs in the refugee response, I hope that the generosity of donors we saw in 2015 will be matched in 2016, so that we can continue to protect Burundian refugees in Rwanda and provide them with the life-saving assistance they need,” said Azam.