US gives Uganda Shs230b for refugees
US Ambassador to Uganda, Ms Natalie E Brown, Ms Juliet Valls Noyes, the assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration United States Department, Ms Esther Ayakun Minister of State for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees and Mr Hilary Onek, Disaster and Preparedness minister on Friday. PHOTO | COURTESY
The US government has channelled $61m (about Shs230b) to the refugee crisis in Uganda, $21m (about Shs80b) of which is meant for humanitarian aid in Karamoja Sub-region.
Karamoja is one of the poorest sub-regions in Uganda with a poverty rate of 66 percent, three times the national average. Currently, all the nine districts of the sub-region (Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripit and Napak) are either at food crisis level or worse.
While meeting Disaster and Preparedness minister Hillary Onek on Friday, Ms Juliet Valls Noyes, the assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration United States Department, said the money is humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced people in Uganda.
“This assistance from the US will enable our humanitarian partners to help more than seven million refugees and asylum seekers throughout Africa, as well as more than 25 million internally displaced persons,” she said of the $571m (Shs2.1 trillion) assistance to Africa.
Ms Natalie E Brown, the US Ambassador to Uganda, noted that Uganda is a top refugee hosting country in Africa, pointing out the arrival of 71,000 refugees from the DR Congo and South Sudan since the start of the year. Mr Onek thanked the US for the tremendous support. Uganda currently hosts 1,529,272 refugees.
