It is World Refugee Day today, June 20. Uganda is hosting the largest refugee population in Africa and has gained international recognition for its effective, development-focused refugee policies.
Despite over 1.6 million refugees residing in the country, and 60,000 new arrivals in this year alone, Uganda has adopted an approach aligned with the recommendations of the World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies by providing settlements instead of camps, allowing freedom of movement, association, and work for refugees.
In 2016, Uganda became the first country to implement a Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) which emphasizes a holistic responsibility and burden-sharing approach towards refugees. This framework has enabled Uganda to develop sector-specific response plans, prioritizing integrated service delivery in areas such as health, education, water and environment, energy, and livelihoods. By prioritizing the well-being and integration of refugees, Uganda has demonstrated the potential for inclusive growth, resilience, and pathways to self-reliance. World Bank cost analysis of Uganda’s integrative policies providing economic opportunities to refugees has found that they have reduced the aid needed by refugees by almost 45%. But a growing number of global emergencies, increased levels of forced displacement, and flat humanitarian funding has placed growing pressure on the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Program, and other humanitarian partners in Uganda providing life-saving care and maintenance support to refugees.
The World Bank has played a crucial role of mobilizing greatly needed funding and coordinating partnerships in support of the implementation of Uganda's development policies for refugees and host communities. Through the IDA Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR) and other funds, the World Bank has provided more than $1 billion of support for Uganda’s refugee hosting districts. This funding has supported development of infrastructure, enhanced projects promoting medium- to long-term development opportunities, and improved service delivery for refugees and host communities. Thirteen projects cover a wide scope of sectors and involve work with 17 different government ministries, departments, and agencies. Two projects that are wrapping-up in June 2024 have provided tangible gains to communities – the Uganda Support to the Municipal Infrastructure Development Program (USMID) and the Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP). USMID has focused on improving economic services and infrastructure in 11 districts hosting refugees, constructing 45 pieces of infrastructure including roads, markets, resource centers, and playgrounds to strengthen social cohesion between refugees and their hosts. Under USMID, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has provided more than 2,000 land titles to host communities bordering refugee settlements to give surety of land tenure. This facilitates sharecropping and the leasing of land to refugees to enhance their socio-economic well-being and that of their hosts.
DRDIP is a regional project covering Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Uganda. In Uganda, it has become the favored project for local governments to quickly deliver results. The project has provided social infrastructure, livelihoods, and environmental measures which have benefited more than 3,000,000 refugees and people in host communities. Through DRDIP’s construction of classrooms and related facilities, attendance has improved in targeted refugee hosting areas, with a 47% rise in primary school enrollment and a 9% increase in secondary enrollment. This has also alleviated congestion in neighboring schools. Through constructing additional health facilities, the project has reduced the time spent by beneficiaries at healthcare centers, leading to a 36% decrease in annual health expenditures. By providing access to finance and financial literacy training, the project has been instrumental in increasing income levels and promoting self-reliance for more than 77,000 beneficiaries. Through the project, the world's first “displacement risk financing mechanism” – the Displacement Crisis Response Mechanism has been introduced to measure sector-specific needs and disburse funds for infrastructure in refugee hosting areas with the greatest need. This approach has significantly improved water, health, and education services in host districts.
The World Bank has also supported the Government of Uganda’s Global Refugee Forum pledge to transition humanitarian managed social services into national systems. Under the Uganda Inter-Governmental Fiscal Transfers Program, 51 primary schools and 15 health centers managed by humanitarian partners have been transitioned into national systems. Under this program, refugee populations have also been included in the local government financing formula to maintain health and education infrastructure, ensuring a whole of population approach to maintaining social service infrastructure in refugee hosting districts. UNHCR and the World Bank have also worked closely on procedures, manuals, standards and technical assistance to support the transition of water schemes from humanitarian partners into the National Water and Sewage Corporation and regional water utilities resulting in major operations and maintenance savings and more sustainable models of management.
Uganda's commitment to integrative refugee policies was reiterated at the December 2023 Global Refugee Forum and the success of its comprehensive development approach, which focuses on a partnership between all stakeholders, has set a promising example for other nations to follow. As Uganda continues to prioritize the collective needs of refugees and host communities amidst the dwindling humanitarian funding, it serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for the global community in addressing the challenges of forced displacement.
Two of the winning entries from a student competition to capture the impact of DRDIP investments on student’s lives:
At fast, we had poor standardized classrooms. Those classrooms leaked whenever it rained. There were little blackboards. But you have constructed us modern classrooms that have improved performance in our school. DRDIP has provided us with enough seats which reduced congestion of learners in classrooms. Water was a challenge before your time but now we have water tanks which collect water whenever it rains. We could move a long distance to fetch water to use when cleaning latrines and classes. But now we no longer go out of the school to fetch water. You have made our school inclusive by leveling the compound of our school and have favored all learners to access education because you constructed ramps that reach every door of our classrooms.
Jack Bauer, Mahani Primary School, Kamwenge District
DRDIP has fought the problem of long distances by building teachers' quarters and five blocks of ventilated and improved latrines for teachers. Our teachers were disadvantaged by renting and moving long distances. Also, on the other side for students, DRDIP constructed one block of a two-unit science laboratory, a change from the old side whereby the upper classes were taken for science practicals to the nearby school in Padibe town council in Lamwo District, which has made our students have better performances in science subjects.
Akonyo Scovia Ray, a special needs student at Lokung Sec. School
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