EU Provides $30 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Uganda

The Ebola epidemic that will be present in Uganda between September 2022 and January 2023 will pose an additional danger to the nation, which already hosts the largest refugee population in Africa. In the meantime, Uganda continues to take in significant numbers of refugees from wars in its neighbors.

More than 50 million people in the Greater Horn of Africa area are in dire need of food assistance as a result of multiple, interconnected humanitarian crises.

The European Commission will contribute about €331 million in humanitarian assistance to help, with a focus on tackling food insecurity, the needs of displaced people and refugees, disaster preparation, and emergency education.

The money will be used to assist relief efforts in Djibouti (€500 000), Ethiopia (€60.5 million), Kenya (€12.5 million), Somalia (€72 million), South Sudan (€82 million), Sudan (€73 million), and Uganda (€30 million).

More than 95 000 new refugees are expected to arrive in Uganda in 2022 as a result of conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo or instability in South Sudan, both of which have an effect on Uganda.

The government of the nation hosting the majority of African refugees (1.5 million) follows a progressive and inclusive policy towards refugees and has signed up to the UN Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) since 2018, whose policies serve as an inspiration.

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.

The provision of multi-purpose and unconditional cash, risk-informed and targeted based on socio-economic vulnerability and protection concerns, will remain central to the response to address the basic needs of the most vulnerable. EU support will 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.