In Uganda US to give $25m in aid to government for refugees

The United States will give over $25 million in humanitarian aid to Uganda, to help the nation cope with a huge influx of refugees fleeing conflict in east Africa, the US ambassador in Kampala said Tuesday.


Uganda is hosting more than a million refugees,
nearly 700,000 of whom escaped the brutal civil
war raging in neighbouring South Sudan since
December 2013.
US ambassador Deborah Malac praised Uganda's
"very progressive policy" towards refugees.
"We applaud that the government is committed to
keeping the door open to refugees," she told
reporters.
The $25.2 million (24 million euros) will be used
to improve water and sanitation in refugee camps,
fight gender-based violence and ensure ongoing
protection.
Malac called for other countries to "step up and
provide support" for the UN refugee agency and
refugee-hosting countries.
Saying that there appeared to be "no end in sight"
to the violence in South Sudan, Malac urged "more
of a response from the international community,
not just from the usual actors."
The UN says more than 52,000 South Sudanese
refugees have been arrived in Uganda since the
start of the year and the numbers are currently
growing by over 4,000 per day.
The Ugandan minister for refugees, Hilary Onek,
said the the scale of arrivals is stretching the
capacity of one of the world's poorest countries.
"We are worried about the load we are bearing,"
Onek said. "It's getting a little heavy for us to
manage."
Uganda has been praised for offering one of the
most favourable refugee protection environments
in the world -- providing for freedom of movement,
the right to work and land for refugee camps.
However, there have been isolated incidents of
local politicians rallying people against refugees.
In the past week police and residents near
Nakivale refugee camp in the southwest of Uganda
clashed in a dispute over land allocation to
refugees.