Kampala, May 9, 2017, The forthcomingUganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees convened and jointly hosted by the President Yoweri Museveni, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Kampala from 22 to 23 June 2017 aims to raise USD 2 Billion for refugees and communities hosting them in Uganda.

This was announced by the Prime Minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda at a press conference on the forthcoming summit. The press conference was also addressed by the Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hilary Onek; the State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem;the UN Resident Coordinator, Rosa Malango; and UNHCR Country Representative Bornwell Kantande

‘The main goal of the summit to support and strengthen our country’s progressive and transformative approach to refugee protection through mobilising new funding to meet the ever-increasing cost of meeting the humanitarian and long term needs of the growing number of refugees; and supporting host communities,’ said the Prime Minister.

‘Uganda currently ranks among the top refugee hosting countries in Africa and in the world. During the second half of 2016, a mass exodus of refugees from South Sudan roughly doubled the refugee population from 500,000 to over 1.2 million to date,’ said the Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hilary Onek.

The State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem revealed that the summit, would be attended by over 30 Heads of State from the region and beyond. He added that in addition to the donors already supporting with the refugee situation, Government was reaching out to non-traditional donors from the Middle East and the Far East.

The Government and the United Nations each spent USD 150 million in 2016 responding to the needs of refugees and communities hosting them in 12 districts in Northern Uganda. However, the funding is still very inadequate given average influx of 2000.The huge numbers are placing a huge strain on our already stressed ability to cater for the food, water, sanitation, health and education needs of the refugees andtheir host communities.

‘As the UN System in Uganda, we integrate host communities as best as we can in through implementing the Refugee and Host Population Empowerment (ReHOPE) strategy in partnership with the World Bank, to enhance self-reliance and resilience of refugees and host communities,’ said UN Resident Coordinator, Rosa Malango.

The summit aims to mobilize support from Governments, Foundations and Private Sector corporations, regional and international organisations, humanitarian agencies, philanthropists, and non – governmental organisations.

For more information, please contact:

Julius Mucunguzi                                                           Michael Wangusamucugunzij@yahoo.com                                              michael.wangusa@one.un.org+256 (0) 776 210 307                                                         +256 (0) 772 147 505Office of the Prime Minister                                            UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO)

Margaret Awino Kafeero  margaret.kafeero@mofa.go.ug    +256 (0)772589414