The United States, through the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), and USAID, is providing more than $25 million in additional humanitarian funding to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to assist refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda. PRM is contributing more than $14 million to UNHCR, while USAID is providing $11 million to WFP. This additional funding brings the United States’ total humanitarian assistance in Uganda to more than $178 million since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2023.
These additional contributions to UNHCR and WFP will support the provision of essential services such as health, education, protection, food assistance, and income-generating activities to the more than 1.6 million refugees in Uganda and will also benefit generous host communities across the country. Uganda hosts the highest number of refugees of any African country and received more than 130,000 new refugees last year alone, primarily fleeing conflict in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan.
The United States is committed to serving all people in Uganda without discrimination. We will continue to monitor program implementation and assistance to ensure that there is zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or harmful activities.
The United States remains the largest humanitarian donor in Uganda and will continue to support refugees sheltering in the country. We urge other donors to join us in supporting WFP and UNHCR and other humanitarian partners to assist the most vulnerable people affected by conflict and other crises throughout the region.