Press Release:
On July 8, the United States once again demonstrated its ongoing commitment to providing life-saving assistance to those affected by conflict with a pledge of nearly $639 million in additional humanitarian assistance.
Upon the conclusion of the G20 summit in Germany, and following the June 23 Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees, the U.S. government announced this contribution, which will provide emergency food and nutrition assistance, medical care, and protection to the millions of people affected by food insecurity and violence in South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen. Some $62.7 million of this total is supporting the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and World Food Program (WFP) refugee assistance operations in Uganda.
The refugee situation in Uganda has reached crisis proportions. As of July 2017, there are some 1.3 million refugees in the country – including nearly 1 million who have sought safety from the violence in South Sudan – as well as refugees from Burundi, the DRC, and elsewhere.
This influx has put increased pressure on the government of Uganda, local hosting communities, and international relief organizations to provide food, shelter, protection, water, and other basic services. Both WFP and UNHCR face significant funding gaps and are struggling to keep up with the rising demands of a growing refugee population – leading to food shortages and wider insecurity.
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