Food Security, Resilience, and Well-Being Analysis of Refugees and Host Communities in North Uganda
Publisher: ReliefWeb
Author(s): Government of Uganda and Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
Date: 2018
Topics: Cooperation, Livelihoods, Renewable Resources
Countries: Uganda
Uganda presents a unique political framework for the refugee population living in the country, promoting refugees’ self-reliance and favouring a development-based approach to refugee assistance. Nevertheless, the magnitude and the speed of influx of refugees are challenging the implementation of this progressive policy.
A total of 2.1 million refugees from South Sudan have fled conflict and streamed into neighbouring countries since 2016. As of December 2017, 1 053 276 of those refugees had migrated to Uganda, 354 429 of them in 2017 alone, more than 900 per day. A total of 61 percent of the refugees are children under the age of 18; the number of women together with children under 18 made up 82 percent of the total. Uganda is the largest refugee host country in Africa, with a total of 1.4 million refugees and asylum seekers from South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UNHCR, 2018).
The prolonged and steady influx of refugees is increasing concern about the sustainability of the ‘Uganda model’, as the trend is one of continual growth with little prospects for any sizeable change in the short-term future. Apart from insufficient resources for emergency reception (food, healthcare, settlement and shelter), the continually increasing population multiplies the enormous pressures on already strained public services, natural resources and local infrastructure.
In order to make the progressive Uganda refugees policy successful in the medium- and long-term, the refugees’ response needs to facilitate their inclusion in the country’s development agenda. No longer focusing exclusively on short-term, life-saving interventions, the response should act as a vector for refugees’ integration in the economy; improving management of land, water and natural resources; exploiting the socio-economic opportunities associated with the refugees’ presence, skills and development; and strengthening the hosting districts’ capacity to absorb and manage these resources. The positive impact would affect refugees, host communities and hosting districts alike, thus moving towards social and economic integration.