Uganda: S Sudanese refugees protest ration cuts

South Sudanese refugees in a settlement in Adjumani District, Uganda, have staged a protest over food ration cut.

Recently, the UN Refugee agency halved the food ration, citing underfunding by the donors.

Each refugee receives 3 kilograms of maize floor and 3 kilograms of beans after the ration cut earlier this year.

Unconfirmed Ugandan media reports show that some of the protesters in Nyimaji settlement have burnt down their tents.

“UNHCR, WFP and Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda are working on ways to mitigate this,” Charles Yaxley, UNHCR Spokesman, wrote on Whatsapp.

He said the UN agency has introduced a cash-based assistance in some settlements, as one of the ways of tackling the issue.

One million South Sudanese refugees have sought safety in Uganda since last July.

In a statement issued last month, UNHCR noted that an average of more than 1,800 South Sudanese refugees a day have fled to Uganda in the past year.

The influx has become the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world. More than 85 per cent of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda are women and children under the age of 18.

However, it said that despite, hosting a Solidarity Summit in June, the agency had received just 21 per cent of the US$674 million needed to support the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda for 2017.

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