Uganda Refugee News: February 2021

Welcome to Edition 14

In this month's newsletter, the health section continues to have the most publications - hardly surprising given the pandemic, but livelihoods is not far behind. The environment and education bring up the rear given that WASH is completely absent again this month. If anyone is aware of any recent publications on WASH, education and the environment, please send to me at Ugandrefugeenews@gmail.com. Or if there are any researchers out there looking for under researched areas of the response, it seems you could definitely add value in these three areas. Any submissions are extremely welcome – please send to Ugandrefugeenews@gmail.com and wherever possible, they will be included in the next version. To sign up - please click here

Sector specific:

Education:

• UNHCR - EHAGL Education Update: Regional overview (October - December 2020)

• Audio from Cross Border net - Refugees: There is no Advanced level of education

Environment

• MDPI - Agroforestry: Challenges and Opportunities in Rhino Camp and Imvepi Refugee Settlements of Arua District,Northern Uganda

Health:

• Suicide Ideation and Psycho-social Distress Among Refugee Adolescents in Bidibidi Settlement in West Nile, Uganda - This study investigated the factors associated with suicidal ideation and psychological distress among 281 Sudanese refugees (aged 10-19 years). It found that both suicidal ideation and psychological distress are very high among the female adolescents. Familial and individual interventions, particularly those focused on encouraging emotional expression and familial cohesion will be potentially useful for female adolescents who have a high risk of suicide.

• World Bank - Monitoring Social and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Refugees in Uganda: Results from the High-Frequency Phone Survey First round (October/November 2020)

• An Evaluation of Antibiotic Prescribing Practices in a Rural Refugee Settlement District in Uganda

• The role of context in shaping HIV testing and prevention engagement among urban refugee and displaced adolescents and youth in Kampala, Uganda: findings from a qualitative study.

• Mobile Health–Supported HIV Self-Testing Strategy Among Urban Refugee and Displaced Youth in Kampala, Uganda: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Trial (Tushirikiane, Supporting Each Other)

• University of York - Centre of Health economics - A Synthesis of Key Aspects of Health System and Policy Design Affecting the Refugee Populations in Uganda

• Refugee Settlements and Cholera Risks in Uganda, 2016-2019 - During 2016 to 2019, there were seven cholera outbreaks in five refugee settlements and one refugee reception center. Most deaths occurred early in the outbreak, often in the settlements or before arrival at a treatment center rather than after arrival at a treatment center. The outbreaks occurred during different times of the year but simultaneously in settlements that were geographically separated and affected all ages and genders. Some outbreaks spread to the local populations within Uganda.

• UNFPA - Innovative Smart Bag redefines menstruation management for refugee girls in Uganda

• Ground Truth Solutions - Community leader insights and recommendations during the Covid-19 response, February 2021 -

• WHO Takes the COVID-19 Message to Rwenshama Landing site, one of Uganda’s Hard-to-Reach Areas

• UNHCR -

  • Uganda Refugee Settlements: COVID -19 Update (As of 9 Feb 2021)

  • Uganda Settlement COVID-19: COVID 19 statistics among the refugees in Uganda - 20th January 2021

  • East and Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes - COVID-19 emergency response, External Update #26

Livelihoods

• NEW - FAO - Refugee-host proximity and market creation in Uganda

• IOM - National Capacity-Building Workshop on Promoting Migrant and Refugee Entrepreneurship in Uganda 9 –10 February 2021 - Statement by IOM

• Improving Refugees’ Livelihoods through Self-Reliance Strategies in Nakivale Settlement, South Western Uganda

• Cash based interventions and the growth of community markets in refugee settlements in Uganda: a case of western Uganda

• The socio-economic effects of refugees on the host community in Uganda: a case study of Rwamwanja settlement, Kamwenge district - the objectives of the study were to determine the factors that has contributed to the land crisis among refugee and host community, to examine effects of refugee existence on the economic changes on the host community and to investigate the environmental crisis factors that has been caused by the influx of refugees to the host community.

• Refugeehood in Uganda’s rapidly urbanizing cities: An investigation of the South Sudanese refugees’ use of assets and community self-reliance to overcome humanitarian protection challenges in Arua city, Northern Uganda - This case study investigates how a community of self-settled South Sudanese refugees living in Arua copes with the challenges of self-settlement, self-reliance and recognition. The study shows that refugees undergo several challenges, such as unfair competition for jobs and limited access to public services exacerbated by contextual factors, such as Arua’s uneven rapid urbanization. The research has found that members of the South Sudanese refugee community rely on shared community assets and the work of Refugee-Led Organizations (RLOs) to improve their situation and advocate for better life conditions within the city.

• Audios from Cross Border net -

  • Insufficient food aid: What is plan B for refugees? - Many South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, particularly in Northern Uganda are increasingly engaging in different livelihood activities in order to counteract the impact of insufficient food aid they receive every month. With news of further cuts in food relief in the near future, more refugees are taking initiatives to start income generating activities with Adjumani main market has seen drastic increase of occupants.

  • Refugees: What is the way forward? - WFP distributes food assistance periodically to refugees andasylum seekers, in Uganda. But the most recent round of distribution did not include protein foods, sending refugees living in Africa’s largest refugee camp, Bidibidi, into chaos. Marry Monday; a refugee, sent this report.

  • Creating livelihoods in refugee settlements

Protection

• Effects of sexual and gender based violence on the livelihoods of refugee women in Uganda: A case of Palabek Refugee Settlement, Lamwo District - This qualitative study with a case study research explored the lived experiences of SGBV refugee women survivors, the level of awareness among the refugee women about SGBV and the existing interventions in place to address SGBV among the refugees. The study revealed that the SGBV refugee women survivors face several challenges including physical injuries, destruction of property, unwanted pregnancies, separation of family members, grabbing and selling of property, isolation and discrimination and excess drinking of alcohol. The level of awareness about SGBV among the SGBV refugee women survivors was influenced by culture, stigma and embarrassment, patriarchal domination and perceptions on the forms of SGBV. It highly impacted on the lives of the SGBV refugee women survivors, they left out most of the refugee men thus making it difficult to completely eradicate SGBV from refugee communities. The study therefore recommends that the government and Non-Governmental Organizations should put in place interventions that cater for the needs of both refugee men and women so as to completely solve the problem of SGBV.

• Audio from Cross Border.net - The plight of child refugees - over 41,000 children crossed into Uganda for safety. Such figures make Uganda host of the largest number of unaccompanied child refugees in the world; according to UNHCR.

Other:

• NEW -Amplifying Voices - Podcasts replace isolation in Uganda

• Thousands of Refugees Are Stranded at Uganda's Border

• JICA - Signing of Grant Agreement with Uganda:Contributing to stabilizing society and to promoting economic growth through improving roads in refugee-hosting areas

• Humanitarian Remains: Erasure and the everyday of camp life in Northern Uganda (paid for content)

• Everyday mobility among South Sudanese refugees in Uganda reveals agency and uncertainty

• Pragmatic Mobilities and Uncertain Lives: Agency and the Everyday Mobility of South Sudanese Refugees in Uganda

• Can Uganda’s global refugee-assisting image subsist in a possible shift in political regimes?

• Refugee local integration: Local governments as stakeholders in the implementation of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework in Uganda

• Audios from Cross Border net

  • Expert point of view: Refugee rights and obligations - Odeke Moses from the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control Department of Uganda shared his insights

  • Refugees: Know your rights

• Is Uganda’s progressive refugee policy equalizing the food security of national and refugee households? (paid for content) - Ugandan citizenship together with size of land holding, livestock ownership and consumption of animal source food, marital status and geographical location enhance the food security of the household. However, this study found surprisingly that households currently receiving WFP support remain food insecure compared to those not receiving support. Another surprising finding was that women headed households were more food secure than male-headed households across other socioeconomic parameters. The findings hence suggest that in terms of equalizing the food security of refugees with that of Ugandan nationals, Uganda’s progressive policy on refugees remains work in progress.

• Congratulations to the first set of SCCIF winners! - the Smart Communities Coalition InnovationFund (SCCIF) awarded three of its four grants to companies that will use renewable energy technologies to increase access to electricity in refugee-hosting areas of Uganda.

• U-LEARN - Opinion: 3 lessons learned on integrating innovation into the Uganda refugee response

• OPM - Uganda Refugees & Asylum Seekers as of 31/Jan/2021

• UNICEF - Uganda Humanitarian Situation Overview Dashboard: January-December 2020

• ECHO - Factsheet – Uganda (Last updated 11/02/2021)

• UNHCR -

  • Refugee Statistics Map January 2021

  • Active Population Population by settlement :January 2021

  • Refugee Statistics January 2021

  • Uganda 2020-2021 RRP Q3 Update

  • Refugee Statistics January 2021 - Rwamwanja, Rhino, Palorinya, Palabek, Oruchinga, Nakivale, Lobule, Kyangwali. Kyaka II, Kiryandongo, Kampala, Imvepi, Adjumani, Bidi Bidi

  • Inter-Agency Revised Uganda Country Refugee Response Plan (July 2020 – December 2021)

  • Burundi Regional Refugee Response Plan, January - December 2021

  • 2021 Burundi Refugee Return and Reintegration Plan

  • Regional Bureau for East And Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes Region - Refugees and Asylum-Seekers by country of asylum (as of 31 January 2021)

  • Regional Bureau for East And Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes Region - Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, Refugee Returnees and IDPs (as of 31 January 2021)

• IRC - 9th Refugee Engagement Forum Report

• Social work with refugees and migrants in Uganda (book)

• FEWS-NET - Uganda Price Bulletin, February 2021

• REACH/WFP - Uganda: Market Monitor - Refugee Hosting Areas | Refugee Settlement Price and Market Functionality Snapshot, 1-30 November 2020

• Center for Multilateral Affairs - Refugees through the front door and the backdoor: Reflecting on Uganda’s open door refugee policy

Training, Events, Funding etc:

• The US. Dept of State’s BPRM - FY 2021 Notice of Funding Opportunity for NGO Programs Benefiting Refugees in Rwanda and Uganda. The proposal submission deadline is Friday, March 26, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. (23:59:59) EST. The full notice of funding opportunity is available here