UNHCR appeals funding for South Sudan refugees in Uganda

As South Sudan marks its fourth independence anniversary on Thursday, the UN Refugee Agency here called for increased aid to the tens of thousands of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a statement issued here said that it needs 99 million U.S. dollars to take care of the refugees. The refugee agency said only 9 percent of the money has been raised.

"The UN Refugee Agency's appeal for the humanitarian response for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda remains severely underfunded. To date, just 9 percent of the 99 million dollars needed has been met," said the statement.

"Current resources remain insufficient to provide vital life- saving assistance and services, particularly in the areas of health, education and livelihoods and environment," it added.

"Many South Sudanese refugee children, their country's hope for the future, face key barriers to education including overcrowding in classrooms, a lack of teachers, and a lack of recreational activities to support constructive social engagement."

Fighting that broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 and has since persisted has displaced around 1.5 million inside the country, while more than 730,000 people have become refugees in neighboring countries.

In Uganda, more than 155,000 South Sudanese refugees have joined the already 22,000 who have been residing in the country before the post-December 2013 influx.

The agency said the number of people being forced to flee their homes due to the ongoing conflict continues to increase.

"Political efforts so far have failed to bring an end to the conflict and the outlook for the affected populations remains grim, " said the statement. Endi