Friday, September 01, 2017

The Silent Crisis

The influx into Uganda of South Sudanese people fleeing violence – one million since July last year – has become the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world. It is Africa’s biggest human exodus since the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Despite the sheer scale, it is largely a silent crisis unfolding without global attention.

The government of Uganda is demonstrating compassion in its refugee support efforts. Rrefugees are not only being provided with land to build shelter and grow crops but are also granted freedom of movement, the right to work, and access to health care and education. In addition to South Sudanese, many people and families who have fled conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are benefitting from this. It’s a unique approach that goes right to the heart of effective refugee protection, which must involve finding long-lasting solutions that enable people and families to live in safety, reestablish their livelihoods, and reclaim their lives.

Greater donor support is needed to intensify these efforts to effectively respond to the scale of this crisis. It is vital that refugees can provide food for themselves sooner rather than relying on food aid, and so that refugees and their host communities can have a real opportunity to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty and build a sustainable future for themselves and their families.

http://news.trust.org/item/20170830155016-8gfwh/

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