Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has promised to work with refugee-supporting agencies and the private sector to mobilize US$8 billion that Uganda needs to cater for refugees in the next four years. Uganda is now home to more than 1.2 million refugees, and according to PM Rugunda the number is likely to increase by 400,000 by the end of the year.
Dr. Rugunda, who was briefing the media about the refugee summit that will take place in Kampala from June 22 – 23, said that it is aimed at showcasing Uganda’s refugee model, a side-shoot of the UN summit that was held in September 2016.
The Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees will be hosted by Kaguta Museveni and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the immediate former UN refugee High Commissioner.
In Africa, Uganda is currently ranked highly amongst refugee hosting countries, with over 100 camps in the 12 districts located in northern Uganda receiving at least 2,000 refugees, mostly South Sudanese, every day.
Bidibidi refugee reception center found in Yumbe district is one of the camps that accommodate over 50,000 refugees, and the Ugandan borders remain open to South Sudanese fleeing fighting in their country.
“The Government of Uganda and United Nations in Uganda have each spent US$150 million to respond to the needs of refugees as well as host communities and the more their numbers increase the higher the costs incurred,” the Minister for Disaster Preparedness Hillary Onek, was quoted as saying.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator Rosa Malongo called for long term solution for the refugee crisis and also lauded Uganda’s refugee model, saying it is globally recognized.
