Roundup: Refugee influx pushes Uganda's humanitarian relief aid to record high in 2015

Humanitarian agencies working in Uganda have said relief aid to the country hit a record high in 2015 mainly on account of influx of refugees.

UN's food aid agency in its annual report said it assisted close to a million people last year, nearly 200,000 more than in 2014.

The marked increase was mostly due to a surge in the number of refugees now living in Uganda, combined with expanded efforts to tackle post-harvest losses and malnutrition.

"The number of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda has increased nearly eight-fold since fighting broke out in their country in December 2013," said Michael Dunford, acting Country Director UN World Food Program (WFP).

According to the agency more people continue to arrive in Uganda daily from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries.

Dunford said there are now over half a million refugees in the country, most of whom rely heavily on WFP food assistance and nutrition supplements for young children.

"WFP is now feeding 360,000 refugees in Uganda, which is the highest number of refugees we have ever supported here," he said.

Uganda government figures show over 172,400 South Sudan refugees have crossed into Uganda since fighting started in December 2013. Over 18,425 Burundian refugees have been received in Uganda since November.

Compared to 2014, WFP more than doubled the number of small-scale farmers it assisted with skills and technologies to reduce post-harvest food losses.

The organization reached 38,000 farmers in a program that strongly incorporates the private sector for self-sustainability.

Farmers who had previously lost up to 40 percent of their crops after harvest reported cutting those losses to less than 2 percent after enrollment in the project.

The beginning of 2016 also seems to paint a grim picture. The UN Refugee agency in its new report shows that the number of South Sudanese refugees who have crossed into Uganda since the year started has reached close to 6,000 people.

"So far, the average rate of arrival is averaging 431 individuals per day, though with fears of further increase. Some cite violence and fighting, others hunger as the main reasons for flight," the report issued on Saturday said.

According to the refugee agency, in comparison to previous months, Uganda continues to receive a remarkable, steady influx of Burundian refugees.

They are mainly fleeing from Bujumbura, Muyinga, Kirundo, Kibitoke and Bubanza, Gitega and Karusi provinces citing continued insecurity stirred by renewed fights between government and opposition groups.

Despite the current situation, the humanitarian agencies are optimistic that the ongoing peace efforts in the region to end the conflicts will yield to good results. Endit