A sign post showing refugee camp in Adjumani, Uganda. [Photo: courtesy]
Uganda has warned that it may be forced to shut its borders against refugees if the international community fails to raise funds to cater for the livelihood of the affected communities sheltering in the country.
Uganda’s Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees, Eng. Hillary Onek said the country is struggling to raise between $800 million 1$.2 billion to feed the refugees.
Speaking during the handing over of a Japanese food donation to the refugees in Uganda, Mr. Onek said the country will be left with no choice but to review its open-door policy so that it is not overburdened.
According to the Daily Monitor, Mr. Onek revealed that although WFP has been able to buy about 75, 000 metric tonnes of maize grains and 35,000 metric tonnes of beans from Uganda to cater for the refugees, food insecurity is prevalent in various refugee settlements.
“A small country like Uganda is overstretched, and the open-door refugee policy is costing us a lot. If the international community doesn’t come to help and contain the situation, we may become hostile and review the policy,” Onek said.
The official further pleaded with Western countries and international well-wishers to extend financial support to the displaced people.
“We feel sorry for the refugees, but it becomes a problem when it is abused, and those countries are obliged to take care of them (refugees). Help us feed these people because their needs are not different from yours.
According to the UNHCR report, Uganda is the largest South Sudanese refugee hosting country in the world, followed by Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic.
83 per cent of South Sudanese refugees are women and children, 65 per cent are below the age of 18, and 66,000 children are unaccompanied or separated from their parents.
In January 2023, UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said there was a multiplicity of needs that overstretched Refugee Response partners in Uganda.
This comes amid global crises such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that have overburdened donor governments and prompted a cut in humanitarian support.
