By Olivia Le Poidevin

A UN worker monitors Congolese refugees who fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo by boat across Lake Albert, upon arrival at United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in settlement camp in Kyangwali, Uganda March 19, 2018. Picture taken March 19, 2018. REUTERS/James Akena/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

GENEVA, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Emergency funding to help hundreds of thousands of refugees in Uganda will run out next month unless more support comes in, a United Nations agency said on Monday.

A funding crisis is threatening programmes for people fleeing there from strife-torn countries in the region including Sudan, and Uganda’s neighbours South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.

“Emergency funding runs out in September,” Dominique Hyde, the agency’s Director for External Relations, said in a statement.

“More children will die of malnutrition, more girls will fall victim to sexual violence, and families will be left without shelter or protection unless the world steps up.”

UNHCR and other UN agencies face one of the worst funding crises in decades, compounded by U.S. and other donor states’ decisions to slash foreign aid funding.

Uganda is home to 1.93 million refugees, more than a million of them under 18, according to UNHCR figures.

An average 600 people are still coming in every day and the overall figure, already the largest in Africa, is due to rise to 2 million by the end of the year, the agency says.

It said it would only be able to meet a third of the costs associated with supporting Sudanese refugees in Uganda – and would have to cut its monthly funding to $5 per refugee from $16 unless more money is found.

Malnutrition rates are rising as food, water, and medicine supplies shrink, while the risk of suicide is increasing among young refugees due to a reduction in mental health staff, the agency added.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Suggested Topics:

Read Next

Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel’s next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option.

Site Index

About Reuters

Stay Informed

Information you can trust

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Read More