UN gives Uganda $18m as emergency fund for refugees

The UN has selected Uganda as among the top nine countries in the world that need emergency humanitarian support.

The UN Refugee Agency in a statement on Friday said the global organization has offered Uganda 18 million U.S. dollars to be used to cater for refugees and host communities in the east African country.

"The funds will support an estimated 512,856 refugees and Ugandans living in refugee-hosting villages in the West Nile, Mid-West and South-West regions," the statement said.

The agency said the funding will provide life-saving assistance to meet the emergency needs of new arrivals coming into the country, while the remaining amount will be used for refugees already in Uganda.

More than half a million people fleeing violence and human rights abuses, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi, have found safety and protection in Uganda.

Over 112,000 refugees arrived in 2015 alone, making Uganda the third-largest refugee hosting country in Africa and the eighth largest in the world.

"Many refugees are arriving in Uganda having fled unspeakable horrors, often with nothing but the clothes on their back," said the Acting UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda, Aida Girma.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to date, the Refugee Response Plans for South Sudan and for Burundi remain at 28 percent and 36 percent funded respectively.

The other countries that will receive the UN emergency funds are Mali, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Source: XINHUA