Government seeks more financial support for refugees

The Minister of State for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, Musa Ecweru, has said that more support is still needed to keep and maintain the welfare of the refugees who are still coming into the country.

The outbreak of Covid-19 led to the closure of all the border entry points with the aim to curb the spread of the pandemic but this didn't stop some of the refugees from entering into the country.

The virus however created an unprecedented socioeconomic impact globally as the economies have put a halt on jobs and the livelihoods have faced a drastic decline than ever before.

Uganda has relatively 'friendly' policies that provide rights to the refugees, such as rights to education, work, private property, healthcare and other basic social services.

Ecweru said despite the challenges brought by the virus, Uganda still remains committed to hosting refugees but with strict Standard Operating Procedures to combat the spread of the virus.

"We are not migrating from our respected position of maintaining our door open to refugees, the opening will remain, "he said.

He however said that the outbreak of the pandemic has greatly affected the country by creating a funding gap due to limited support from the donors.

"Due to the effects of the pandemic, the funding continues to decline,"he said adding that most of the effort is being put to fight coronavirus hence neglecting some of the very important areas.

"Even rich country are experiencing economic challenges due to effects of the pandemic but we continue to ask for support, "he said.

Ecweru also told reporters that government banned the movement of refugees from one camp to another to prevent the spread of the virus.

"It is very risky to move from one one place to another. I received report that some of these refugees are not following the standard operating procedures particularly moving from one camp to another.

Uganda is one of the largest refugee hosting nations in the world with over 1,400,000 refugees as of February 2020.