Refugee solidarity summit in Uganda raises $358m

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Refugee solidarity summit in Uganda raises $358m

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António Guterres (UN Photo)
June 24, 2017 (KAMPALA) - The international community, at a refugee
solidarity summit in Uganda, pledged $358.2 million on Friday.

The pledge is part of the $2 billion aid raised to support 1.2 million
refugees, 900,000 of who hail from neighbouring South Sudan.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who was
present at the summit, lauded the steps taken in support of refugees.

“I witnessed what has been the biggest the biggest exodus from Africa
since the Rwandan genocide,” said Guterres.

According to the United Nations, over 2,000 people flee South Sudan
daily into Uganda. The conflict in the young nation has displaced
about two million of South Sudan’s population from their homes.

Uganda hosts 1.3 million refugees, with 900,000 of them hailing from
South Sudan. The funds to support the refugees are almost running out
and there is a strain on the country’s infrastructure and resources.

While speaking at the summit, the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
thanked the donor community for showing solidarity with his country.

“These people have come to express solidarity with us and on the first
day $358m,” said Museveni.

“If the international community assists us to cope with this challenge
we shall manage as we have done in the past,” he added.

Meanwhile, donors who attended the summit piled pressure on South
Sudan’s warring factions to put an end to the country’s ongoing war.

(ST)