West Nile Refugee Response - Situation Report 13

World Vision's refugee response in northern Uganda has reached more than 340,000 people from 21 July to 10 August.

The work continues. We continue to highlight that: 

• This is a children's crisis. 60% of Sudanese refugees in Uganda are children. Many of the children have witnessed violence. Some children arrive unaccompanied or separated from their families. There is a need for sustained attention by all actors to address child protection.
  
  
• The youth make up a large proportion of the population and most of them are unemployed. There is a need to engage the youth in meaningful social and economic activities that will keep them engaged as well as earning income. Peacebuilding actions and messaging should be an integral part of every livelihood programme.
  
  
• The majority of the refugees rely entirely on food assistance. In total, 58% of refugees surveyed in a World Vision and UNHCR survey were not participating in any economic activities, while 24% are engaged in farming activities by renting out land from the host communities. There is a need to promote economic activities among the refugee and the host communities to boost income and self-reliance. Some of the refugees had shops in South Sudan and understand how to run businesses. Others were farmers and livestock keepers. Programmes to support restarting former livelihoods are needed to bring the refugees back to self-reliance and participate in the market economy.
  
  
• Uganda has commendably kept its doors open to the new refugees arriving from South Sudan. This effort requires massive external support to enable the government bear the weight of implementing the ambitious Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) which aims to build resilience and self-reliance among the refugee population.
  
  
• World Vision continues to respond to the refugee crisis in northern Uganda and is the lead agency in distributing food assistance to all five refugee settlements. As well, World Vision is playing a significant role in child protection - leading the sector in Imvepi settlement and co-leading in Omugo settlement.

For full programme details, along with the number of people reached, please download the full Situation Report