Muthomi Ireri
For months, Agnes Bulaba, a Congolese refugee in Uganda, has struggled to survive without the food aid she once relied on. Her children now scavenge in local communities for anything edible.
“As an unmarried woman, life is challenging,” Bulaba told The Associated Press. Some locals “throw stones at us, but we just want to feed our children and clothe them,” said the mother of six, who sometimes resorts to sex work to provide for her family.
Uganda hosts over 1.7 million refugees, making it Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Known for its welcoming approach, Uganda faces mounting pressure as international support declines and refugee numbers increase, say Ugandan officials and aid workers.
Each month, around 10,000 new refugees enter Uganda, mainly fleeing conflicts in South Sudan and Congo, with some recently escaping the war in Sudan.
Bulaba lives in Rwamwanja, a refugee settlement in southwestern Uganda. Here, refugees are allocated small plots to farm as they gradually transition from full dependence on food rations. With funding cuts, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) since 2021 has focused its limited assistance on the most vulnerable, providing either food items or a small cash allowance, sometimes as low as $3.
In Uganda, refugees receive 60% of their food rations after three months, and this reduces by half after six months. Full food assistance is available only to recent arrivals, meaning most of the approximately 99,000 refugees in Bulaba’s settlement face serious risks of hunger and poverty.
Back in 2017, the Ugandan government and the U.N. held a summit in Kampala, seeking $8 billion to support the influx of South Sudanese refugees. However, just $350 million was pledged.
Last week, Filippo Grandi, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, visited Uganda to highlight the urgent funding shortfall.
“The international community must not take Uganda’s generosity for granted,” Grandi stated, noting that “services here are overstretched, resources are limited, and funding isn’t keeping up with the needs.”
Grandi urged the international community to “support Uganda’s commitment to refugees” by collaborating with the government to meet both refugee and host community needs.
In Uganda, refugees share access to healthcare and education with locals, fostering integration but sometimes straining limited resources, which can create tensions, though violence remains rare.
During Grandi’s visit, Hillary Onek, Uganda’s minister for refugees, said local authorities need support to help refugees become self-sufficient, mentioning vocational programs like carpentry and metalworking to help refugees gain skills for independence. “We are trying to be innovative,” Onek explained. But with decreasing funds, “there’s not enough to even ensure food.”
Onek said refugees will have to “survive on their own, using their skills.”
For Bulaba, a refugee since 2014 after fleeing violence in Congo with her two children, finding work has proven difficult. She has since had four more children, who often go without shoes or proper clothing. She misses the cash-for-food support she used to receive. “To eat, we look for work, but there’s none,” she said.
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