European Union (EU) released €24 million humanitarian assistance towards longer-term development strategies to find durable solutions and support the self-reliance of refugees.
Currently, Uganda is the largest recipient refugee country in Africa hosting 1.4million asylum seekers from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, Uganda’s progressive refugee policy is under increasing pressure due to the scale of the crisis, and services are overstretched while available land is dwindling.
According to a statement released by Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, assistance will prioritise emergency situations and new arrivals among displaced populations, with a special focus on the many refugees from South Sudan and the increasing influx of Congolese refugees.
“EU aid will provide emergency health and food assistance, water and sanitation, as well as protection and education in emergencies through accelerated learning programmes for children whose education has been disrupted by conflict and displacement,” he said in a statement.
He noted that EU stands in solidarity and is committed to support the most vulnerable refugees, “Our new funding will help both those already displaced and the new arrivals into Kenya and Uganda,” he added.
He revealed that €10 million emergency assistance has been released to Kenya to support refugees living in Dadaab and Kakuma camps, providing protection to the most vulnerable, as well as granting access to quality primary education.
EU assistance will also support programmes to tackle the consequences of the prolonged drought in parts of the country. The assistance in Kenya comes on top of the €1.5 million released in May to assist the victims of the flooding that wreaked havoc in the country.
Kenya continues to host more than 450,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia and South Sudan. Additionally, recurrent and prolonged climate shocks cause food and nutrition crises. The EU has allocated over €130 million in humanitarian assistance to Kenya since 2012.