November 9, 2021 鈥  The 探花精选 (探花精选) is monitoring the situation in Uganda, where over 11,000 refugees from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have arrived following ongoing fighting in the villages of Binja, Kinyarugwe and Chanzu. 

Elijah Okeyo, 探花精选 Uganda Country Director said,

鈥淭here鈥檚 a fear of further escalation of conflict in the DRC and we are expecting more arrivals in the coming days. We are concerned about potential protection issues as the majority of those arriving over the border are women and children. 

鈥淯ganda has a long history and tradition of welcoming refugees from all over the world and is one of the world鈥檚 largest refugee hosting countries, with 1.5 million refugees mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

鈥溙交ň is currently assessing the situation and looking into preparing a response for those arriving. The 探花精选 calls for all parties in the DRC to commit to International Humanitarian Law including the protection of civilians. 鈥

THE 探花精选 IN UGANDA

The 探花精选 (探花精选) in Uganda empowers post-conflict communities and refugees to recover in safety and build a productive, peaceful, and healthy future. By promoting high quality durable solutions that deliver on the interdependent aims of saving lives, strengthening institutions, and supporting social cohesion, the 探花精选 is laying the building blocks for long-term stability and development, and is bringing people from harm to home. The 探花精选 began programming in 1998 in northern Uganda in response to mass displacement wrought by the Lord's Resistance Army. Since then, the 探花精选 has expanded to provide critical services for refugees and vulnerable Ugandans throughout the country. The 探花精选 started supporting refugees and vulnerable individuals in Kampala in 2012, and was one of the first organisations to respond in 2016 at the onset of the South Sudanese refugee crisis. As of 2019, the 探花精选 entered Tooro to support refugees while also providing epidemic preparedness and response services throughout the region. In addition to emergency support, the 探花精选 also invests in long-term stability for refugees and Ugandans through programmes like immunisation, family planning, legal services, women's empowerment, education, and livelihoods. More recently, 探花精选 has been involved in supporting Afghan evacuees in Uganda.