Helping hand vital as refugee crisis is becoming a calamity
THE people of South Sudan are experiencing extreme hardship. Conflict and hunger are driving thousands out of the country to seek shelter and safety.
Out of the 1.8 million who have left the country, about one million, about as much as one-third of the population of Wales, have entered Uganda to seek refuge.
Uganda now hosts the third-largest refugee population in the world, yet this is a severely unreported crisis.
South Sudan is a relatively young country. Independence was won in 2011, but since 2013 the country has been gripped by a civil war between the South Sudanese government and various anti-governmental groups and factions.
This makes the situation a humanmade crisis.
The combination of brutal civil war, ethnic violence and political instability has displaced more than 3.5 million people, and left hundreds of thousands without food, water or safety.
Thousands have died, and many more are in urgent need of some form of humanitarian aid.
Aid agencies and NGOs have managed to push the country back from famine in the past weeks, but vast parts of the country are still suffering extreme hunger.
More than 86% of the refugees fleeing these conditions are women and children.
They need support and aid to protect them from rape, beating, torture and abandonment.
They leave their homes with nothing, all in the hope of finding a better future elsewhere.
The majority travel south to Uganda, because the country has one of the most progressive refugee policies in the world, and a proud history of welcoming people fleeing conflict from other countries in Africa, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
Uganda has a history of providing rights, safety and opportunities, and this is why the majority of South Sudanese refugees travel south to Uganda, resulting in huge refugee settlements, like the Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in northern Uganda – which hosts more than 270,000 refugees, making it the biggest refugee settlement in the world.
Uganda permits refugees free movement, the right to work and to start businesses, and creates a system that benefits the Ugandan economy, as well as the wellbeing and livelihoods of refugees.
However, with the significant increase in refugee population, the situation in Uganda is now extremely difficult.
The government is struggling to cope with the high number of people who need humanitarian aid. The system is close to breaking-point.
This means that the progressive approach hangs in the balance, and it is very possible that Uganda will not be able to provide the same level of support if the situation carries on as it is.
The international community must respond, but although funding has been committed it has not yet arrived.
The United Nations has set up an appeal with a target of US$673m to deal with the crisis, but so far only 17% has been raised.
The Ugandan government also requested a further US$2bn to fund the humanitarian response for the influx of refugees in the country. So far, only US$431.1m has been donated.
Without an increase in aid, Uganda will not be able to receive more refugees; will not be able to provide food, water, shelter, safety and opportunities to people who have lost so much already.
More assistance from the international community is crucial.
The international community also needs to pressure the South Sudanese government and rival factions to stop fighting, and negotiate a ceasefire to end the brutal conditions for countless men, women and children across the country. Wales can also help. Although the Welsh Government cannot provide financial aid, there are other actions that could be implemented.
Wales and Uganda have strong links through Wales For Africa; a programme designed to improve and to contribute towards international development in Africa.
Wales For Africa works with communities and organisations from the third and public sectors in Africa. In Uganda, most of the partnerships exist in the south of the country, and work mainly on health, education and economic development.
Wales has links with numerous health groups in communities in Uganda, with charities like PONT and Vale of Africa working with community groups in Mbale and Tororo, in eastern Uganda.
We ask the Welsh Government to urge their partners through this programme, including the Ugandan government, to make an effort to divert any possible assistance from other parts of the country to the north, where the emergency is most severe.
Without help from the international community, be that financial or political aid, the humanitarian crisis for the South Sudanese people will continue and worsen, and Uganda will not be able to provide the shelter, help and safety the people of South Sudan desperately need.