Over 138,000 refugees are reported to have fled to Uganda from the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan since early 2022.
Among them, 98,000 fled from Eastern DR Congo while the rest fled from South Sudan. Polyne Abina, the Western region refugee desk officer under the Office of the Prime Minister, revealed this today during a meeting with a delegation of European Union ambassadors at the Nyakabande refugee transit centre.
Polyne also revealed that the transit centre in Nyakabande is overwhelmed with refugees who are in the process of being transferred to settlements. She noted that the transit currently holds over 900 individuals instead of 700, which brings in a challenge of a shortage of resources.
The Deputy Director of Program Operations at Save the Children, Peruth Natumanya, says that over 1,497 children have also fled fighting in the North Kivu province since last year.
She says that the children are forced to escape from the Nyakabande holding centre and at times Nakivale settlement camp due to a lack of conducive services like accommodation and enough food.
Meanwhile, refugees at the transit expressed poor feeding concerns, saying that they only feed on posho and beans.
Speaking to journalists, the UNHCR country representative in Uganda, Matthew Crentsil, said that partners have always stressed the need for resources to ensure that refugees have a balanced diet.
He noted that the refugee influx makes planning for them difficult.
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