Supporting livelihoods

Uganda continues to host the largest refugee population in Africa with over 1,423 million refugees displaced by conflicts in the neighboring countries. The West Nile sub region alone is currently hosting some 761,881 refugees, 99% of whom are refugees from South Sudan. Uganda’s refugee asylum policy and refugee settlement approach are widely regarded as an exemplary model where refugees are integrated within the host communities and have equal access to services with nationals.

A majority (85%) of Ugandan rural households are engaged in subsistence agriculture. However, many households cannot produce enough food to feed their families. Unfortunately, most rural people in the West Nile region cannot generate enough income to meet their household’s basic requirements.

In line with the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) strategy, contributing to a comprehensive refugee response in Uganda, there is a need to support and mitigate the effects of COVID 19 on household food security and environmental restoration. Supporting livelihoods will bridge the Humanitarian-Development-Peace peace nexus by providing green livelihoods options for resilience-building for refugees and host communities, with focus on women and youth, including vocational skills-building, MSME development and access to finance plus providing clean energy solutions such as solar appliances, off-grid standalone systems, and renewable energy based.