Uganda Refugee News - September 2020
- Uganda Refugee News
- Oct 2, 2020
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 4, 2023
Welcome to Edition 9
We're three quarters of the way through this strange year and the 'new normal' is fast becoming just normal as COVID-19 challenges show little sign of lessening. Unfortunately nor is your workload, as COVID-19 doesn't seem to be making such an impact on the region's drivers of displacement! Numbers crossing into Uganda may have slowed, but they are still coming and the existing caseload are no closer to finder solutions to their ongoing displacement and refugees feel shocks more keenly so the pressure continues. Omukisa omulungi! Bon courage! Kila la kheri! Good luck! A quick reminder that all previous editions of this newsletter are on the related website with new items being added as they are discovered. Please feel free to share the newsletter with anyone you think might be interested and they can sign up to receive it directly by clicking here
Sector specific:
Environment
WB Provides $130.8M to Upgrade Road Infrastructure in Refugee Areas
When Home Does Not Exist (paid for content) - In this chapter, the author offers the view that the long-term existences of many conflicts and refugee/IDP camps should lead to a redefinition of the nature of camps and their purposes. Such camps should be progressively treated as new cities or towns in their host countries or communities. This would accelerate the social and economic integration of displaced people by helping them to rebuild their identity, recover their agency, and find places that they could consider home.
Health:
Successfully treating refugees’ post-traumatic stress symptoms in a Ugandan settlement with group cognitive behaviour therapy - this study sought to investigate whether a culturally sensitive, group-based TF-CBT programme (EMPOWER) delivered in a Ugandan refugee settlement effectively reduced refugees’ post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and whether sociodemographic factors, trauma characteristics, or PTSS severity related to programme completion or treatment outcomes. It found that a culturally sensitive, group-based TF-CBT programme delivered in a refugee settlement meaningfully reduces refugees’ PTSS severity and is equally effective for all participants, with the highest retention rates found among those in greatest need of treatment.
The Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Refugees in Kampala
Cash transfers and COVID-19: Experiences from Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Uganda - Little is known about the effects of large cash transfers in contexts of protracted displacement. This includes the influence of cash transfers on health behaviors during shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparing refugee households who have already received their GiveDirectly cash transfer with refugee households who will receive their cash transfer in the near future, the researchers hope to develop better evidence on how unconditional cash transfers influence refugee household knowledge, behaviors, and access to health services during a pandemic. A mini report can be found here
A socio-ecological analysis of risk, protective and promotive factors for the mental health of Burundian refugee children living in refugee camps - this study looks at children aged 7-15 and their mothers in refugee camps in Tanzania but many of the findings are likely applicable to the Uganda context, hence its inclusion in the newsletter.
COVID-19 insight from refugee leaders and humanitarian staff Uganda - September 2020
Individual, community and region level predictors of insecticide-treated net use among women in Uganda: a multilevel analysis - this study investigated how individual, community and region level factors affect ITN use among women of reproductive age in Uganda. NB this is not refugee households but no doubt the findings are similar in that context, hence its inclusion here.
UNHCR - COVID-19 situation in Kiryandongo, Kyangwali
UNHCR - Food Security Dashboard, Health & Nutrition Dashboard - Quarter 2, January - June 2020
Livelihoods
Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion - Emerging practices to address the Covid pandemic
Refugee Entrepreneurship, Business ownership and their right to work in host communities: A legal comparative analysis (Executive summary) - This report provides an introduction to the treatment of refugees under international law while exploring the issues of refugee entrepreneurship, business ownership, and the right to work in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey and Uganda. The full report will be available next month.
Conflict Trends - The hidden population : identity and livelihood of urban refugees in Arua District, Uganda - research - Many refugees in Uganda do not have the necessary identity documents to guarantee their protection, employment and so on, because most of them moved to urban cities on their own. They experience discrimination, poverty and difficulty in attaining sustainable livelihoods. Many South Sudanese and Congolese refugees have been in Uganda for years, yet still have not achieved full refugee status.
U-LEARN/WFP - Market Monitor - Refugee Hosting Areas | Refugee Settlement Price and Market Functionality Snapshot, 1-31 August 2020
UNHCR - Cash-Based Interventions, Livelihoods & Resilience - Quarter 2, January - June 2020
COVID-19 implications on household income and food security in Kenya and Uganda: Findings from a rapid assessment - NB this is not refugee households but no doubt the findings are similar in that context, hence its inclusion here.
Protection
NEW - World Bank - Gender-Based Violence and Violence Against Children: Prevention and Response Services in Uganda’s Refugee-Hosting Districts
Practice-based learning: Establishing simple monitoring systems to support SGBV programming in refugee settings - This program brief documents the process employed by the Sauti/VOICE project to implement simple monitoring systems that record service progress, reveal issues that need to be resolved, and provide evidence of how well interventions are working.
UNHCR - Child Protection Dashboard, SGBV Dashboard, Protection Dashboard - Quarter 2, January - June 2020
WASH
Other:
Women’s rights are advancing—but are refugees being left behind? - A new analysis from IRC finds that women and girls living in large refugee-hosting countries have not experienced global rates of progress over the past 25 years. The analysis looked across more than a dozen measures indicative of gender equality in ten “high-hosting countries” (including Uganda) for refugees and IDPs - covering 33 databases and sources. Related video available here
Public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants: ODI Uganda country profile
Multiple Stakes in a Successful Refugee Response: Lessons from Uganda
Modalities of united statelessness - Mapping Crisis: Datafication and humanitarian in the age of digital mapping
Over 25,400 South Sudanese refugees return home since January
Revisiting the Refugee–Host Relationship in Nakivale Refugee Settlement: A Dialogue with the Oxford Refugee Studies Centre
Big Brother Turns Its Eye on Refugees - Biometrics have crept into humanitarian aid, but the systems may disadvantage women who need help most.
Taking Stock of the Evidence on the Consequences of Hosting Refugees in the Global South (paid for content) - As part of the recent public discussion on forced displacement is the central question of how refugees impact host societies they settle into. Much of this debate focuses on refugees residing in industrial countries such as the USA or Germany. This chapter takes stock of the recent empirical evidence on the consequences of hosting refugees concentrated within the Global South.
South-South Migration within the East and Horn of Africa Region (paid for content) - The region is one of mixed migration. Forced displacement is the largest form of migration, mostly remaining within the region, and driven by a mix of singular and long-standing conflict and climate situations. Voluntary and involuntary migrants and refugees move through regular and irregular channels, resulting in immediate as well as long-term outcomes that significantly shape migration policies in the region. Managing migration in the region is central to its own development strategy, and it attracts the attention of international actors that play significant roles themselves in this regard.
UNHCR - Performance Snapshot, Uganda Refugee Response Plan (RRP) 2020 - 2021 - Quarter 2, January - June 2020, Rhino; Bidi Bidi, Imvepi, Palabek, Kiryandongo, Nakivale, Oruchinga, Kyaka II, Rwamamja, Lobule, Adjumani, Rhino, Palorinya
UNHCR - Settlement profile for Rwamamja, Lobule, Nakivale, Rhino, Kyangwali, Palorinya, Oruchinga, Kyaka II, Kiryandongo, Adjumani, Kampala, Bidi Bidi, Imvepi, Palabek
UNHCR - Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Uganda (31 August 2020)
UNHCR - Performance Snapshot - Quarter 2, January - June 2020
OPM - Government directive on Partners' regularisation - By OPM
UNHCR - 2020 mid year report - Burundi situation, South Sudan situation
Training & events:
Workshop - 19 October - 1pm UK time - Resisting social pressure in the household using mobile money: Experimental evidence on micro enterprise investment in Uganda
Interactive discussion - 8 October 4pm EAT - Integrated Resilience Programming: Lessons from Uganda, Nepal, and Ethiopia - Join REAL and team members from USAID-funded programs in Uganda, Nepal, and Ethiopia for an interactive discussion on successes and challenges of implementing integrated resilience programming in food security activities. By the end of this session, participants will have learned about the added value of integrated resilience programming in food security activities, hear examples of what integration looks like in practice, and learn about challenges faced when attempting to integrate programs at different stages of the program life cycle. This event is primarily for development practitioners who support USAID-funded activities, especially those working on food security and resilience.
Funding:
The 2021 Ockenden International Prize is open - Deadline: midnight (GMT) Monday 30 November 2020. The winners will be announced by 31 March 2021. The four winning organisations will each receive GBP25,000. Ockenden International is looking for projects, activities and/or programmes (each ‘a project’) which promote self reliance among refugees and/or displaced people. You can enter a project run by your organisation or nominate a project managed by a non-profit partner or affiliated organisation.
Dutch Relief Alliance Innovation Fund - Third Call for Proposals 2020 - the focus will be on local humanitarian innovations in Uganda. The total amount available for this call is 2 million Euros for implementation of innovative projects in the refugee response in 2021
South Sudan Refugee scholarship opportunity - The Peter Salama Refugee MPH Scholarship in Humanitarian Health - Students will receive full tuition while pursuing a Master of Public Health graduate degree at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) in conjunction with the Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health. JHSPH requires minimum TOEFL score of 100 or IELTS score of 7.0. Applications Deadline is December 1, 2020, and all required materials are due by January 31, 2021.
Comments