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Donors and the Government of Uganda supported WFP to meet the basic dietary needs of refugees through monthly food or cash transfers. In addition, donors funded the treatment and prevention of malnutrition among refugees and Ugandans living around refugee settlements.
WFP was also able to support smallholder farmers to improve their yields and incomes while reducing food losses.
“The partnership between government, donors and WFP is vital to fight hunger and malnutrition in Uganda,” said El-Khidir Daloum, WFP Country Director. “The ability of donors to swiftly provide funding and entrust us to deliver assistance to those seeking refuge —often women and children fleeing unimaginable hardships—needs our heartfelt recognition.”
In 2019, WFP’s refugee operation received contributions from Uganda, Canada, the European Commission, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and the United States of America.
Donors enabled WFP to help boost economies within Uganda by purchasing food locally. In addition, WFP strengthened its food and cash distribution procedures, including using biometrics to confirm identities in order to improve the accountability and integrity of the refugee response.
The government and donors helped WFP to expand cash-based transfers, reaching 35 percent of all refugees assisted. Cash allows refugees to choose what food they buy and stimulates economic growth in and around settlements. Cash also boosts government efforts to enhance financial inclusion.
Through cash-based transfers, WFP injected US$35 million into refugee settlements in 2019.
At the end of 2019, Uganda hosted 1.38 million refugees— the highest number of refugees in Africa. More than 67,300 refugees arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan between July and December. Women and people under the age of 18 make up 83 percent of refugees.
They typically arrive in Uganda with little to no assets, leaving them heavily dependent on assistance. A WFP and government study in 2017 found that even while the government gives land and the UN and other organizations provide additional assistance, refugees remain vulnerable for years.
By meeting their basic food and nutrition needs, WFP and its partners enable refugees to begin a journey toward self-reliance and resilience in line with Uganda’s refugee policy.
Donors to WFP’s relief and development work in Uganda to support refugees and host communities in 2019 were: Canada (US$562,000), the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (US$16 million), Ireland (US$2.3 million), Japan (US$2 million), the Republic of Korea (US$7 million of oil and rice), Russia (US$1.5 million), Sweden (US$1.7 million), Uganda (US$2.7 million of rice), the United Kingdom (US$56 million), the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (US$3.5 million) and the United States of America (US$110.6 million).
Contributions also came from multilateral (US$2 million) and private donors (US$306,400).
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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

There are now speculations that the Senator Kipchumba Murkomen will be purged from his position as the Senate Majority Leader and become a backbencher with his other 9 compatriots, who voted to save the Governorship of Ferdinand Waititu yesterday, which it didn’t. The ones aligned with the President and Odinga, all voted for the impeachment and won.
Therefore, its now talk of the town that Jubilee’s own Secretary General Rapahel Tuju will takeover the post from Murkomen a strong ally of the Deputy President William Ruto. We are seeing already the rift between the TangaTanga associates of Ruto and the other President’s men. The TangaTanga are seemingly voting and acting like opposition. Even as they are ironically part of the government party.
However, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and other leading parties, which are part of the defunct National Super Alliance (NASA) are voting with the government and for the government. They are even holding rallies, press conferences, all in accordance with the government and their collective work of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). You cannot make this up.
The Jubilee consist of the faction with the President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto’s TangaTanga. The TangaTanga should if these things go on. Just do themselves a favour and split from Jubilee. Go back to the party structure previous to the second term of Jubilee. Because right now, the battle in between is getting hectic. As the Jubilee is dismissing the TangaTanga and also favouring the line of the opposition Raila Odinga. Which must hurt the pride of the DP and his disciples. As they are fair-game, as a punishment for not openly endorsing the BBI from the get-go.
That is how it seems from afar, as the verdict is still out. However, there are actions being made and wordings coming out too. Showing that the TangaTanga is hurt and they are also directing their fingers at Odinga, not at Kenyatta. Which in itself is ironic, as their mate and boss is the one who sanctioned and gave life by the government to the BBI in the first place. Not like Kenyatta isn’t the man who gave way for it and bought peace between them. By also in some way silencing the opposition, as they are in-directly working with a mission together with the state.
That’s why TangaTanga, DP Ruto and his associates feels left behind and lost. They are not directly part of the BBI. They are part of the Jubilee, supposed connected with the President. But he seems to think they are fair game too. As he haven’t stopped it. Just like he didn’t stop sen. James Orengo from taking over for sen. Moses Wetan’gula as the Minority Leader in the Senate last year. That was a token of support from the President, while the disloyal cadre got punished.
We can just wonder how this will go, but the purge might happen. There might be more associates of DP Ruto, which the President and his men is aiming for. To prove to Ruto that a 2022 ambition is fruitless and no one around him will support that. However, are they then supporting the dynasty of Odinga now?
That would really be weird, but the whole BBI and the whole set-up is a blended miss-match and doesn’t make sense. Nevertheless, they still act upon it and the consequences are already there. Peace.

President Paul Kagame had a speech yesterday with the Diplomatic Corps in Kigali, Rwanda. This is the most direct his been in a while in concern of the border dispute with Uganda. That has lasted all through 2019 and continues to linger in 2020. The big-men are fighting shadow games and trading blame. While the peasants are hurt in the midst of the battling between. That part never dies in these sort of diplomatic disputes.
What was striking was a few of his remarks. I will not cover the whole speech, but give a few interesting tide-bits of it. Which is deserving a little look into and some social commentary. Because, inside the Republic everyone will eat his every word and to many are paid to do his praises abroad. So, something gotta give, in this case, me.
Here we go:
“ This is what has happened between Rwanda and Uganda in the recent days. We have had hundreds of Rwandans arrested in Uganda. And we have raised this matter with Ugandan authorities. We have families of hundreds of families coming and appealing to us asking why don’t you ask Uganda to release our people. And that matter has been raised with Uganda repeatedly, several times, by different layers of our administration. I myself travelled there” (Kagame, 29.01.2020).
“As that is happening, and I am calling it good progress — forget about the other stories of how they have been mistreated — the other side says, you see we have shown a good gesture. Now you must also do something. We say, what? Something that tells Rwandans to start traveling to Uganda. And I asked one of the officials who came to see me and told me that: I can easily say that, make a statement that you released nine people, everything is okay, you can start going to Uganda. I told this official, suppose I start doing that, and the next day and another day more Rwandans are arrested and those still in custody are not released. Are you suggesting I would go tell these Rwandans, you know what, I was deceived. Again stop going there” (Kagame, 29.01.2020).
“What I am being asked to do is say Rwandans can start comfortably going to Uganda. That’s what I am being asked. And I am holding on to that because I am not yet comfortable that I can tell Rwandans to start doing that. That they won’t be arrested and relatives will then come tell me you put our relatives and friends into trouble” (Kagame, 29.01.2020).
These three paragraphs are the most striking in the whole speech in concern with the spat and dispute between Rwanda and Uganda. As the Rwandan President have never been so clear during the whole process. His now totally assaulting the way the Ugandan counterparts are treating the Rwandan citizens on its soil. The President is directly saying the Ugandan authorities are illegally arresting, detaining and selecting Rwandans on the border.
There are evidence of a certain amount of Rwandan captives and arrested people, both in the hands of ESO (External Security Organization), ISO (Internal Security Organization) CMI (Chief of Military Intelligence) and other agencies, both in safe-houses and gazetted facilities. Some have been through the legal system, some are conspiring terrorist and spies, which have been detained by CMI and ESO for those reasons. These cases are usually following other procedures, which should be known to the former Acting Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI) in Uganda and now President of Rwanda. So, if someone knows this game and knows his former ally Museveni. Kagame knows, but instead speak in small riddles.
Kagame knows and has an idea, but trying to act aloof and act innocent in all of this. Like his border patrol and others haven’t done anything of sort. That the Rwandan counterparts haven’t attacked nor shown aggression towards the Ugandan. Which by all counts is hogwash. They have both acted in ill fate, but the Rwandan President trying to clean his dirty hands too. It might work on his propaganda stations, but not with me.
Kagame, you better start talking to Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Museveni better start talking to you. So, you to can settle your grievances and hurt, maybe even kiss and make-up. Then after that tell each other war stories, which would a moment of nostalgia between the too gentlemen. Peace.


“When I hear people complaining that our houses are being washed away by floods, I wonder! Floods have no eyes that when they are moving, they are looking for their homes. We are experiencing frequent flooding and loss of property, prolonged drought, drying of springs and wells because we have degraded our wetlands” – Minister of Water and Environment Sam Cheptoris (Irene Abalo Otto – ‘You’re to blame for devastating effects of floods, minister tells Ugandans’ 30.01.2020, Daily Monitor).
Some people shouldn’t quit their day-job, he should have continued with whatever he did before politics. Before he ever accepted the nomination and the opportunity to serve as an Minister in Government. Because your not cutting it, when your blaming the public for putting up structures. When your government clearly haven’t studied, gotten the public educated nor the ones allowing for the building to happen in the first place.
The reasons for the landslides aren’t only in wetlands, it is plenty of other reasons too. To much rain, to little safe areas and no education of the villages that get taken by the rain. Not like the public can just move and get shelter elsewhere. They got to get help and educated by the state. However, the state cannot afford, nor are they designing structures to resilience against the landslides nor the flooding in general.
That is the job of the Ministry and the ones involved in the Disaster Preparedness. Even with some help from the Office of the Prime Minister should help to resolve something too. But, it is much easier to throw the people under the bus.
I will quote one study, just to prove the ignorance of the presiding Minister.
PLOS Research Article from 2016 states this: “This study reveals that failure to overcome the effects to landslides and floods in disaster prone communities of Uganda are mainly due to deep rooted links to poverty, culture and unsatisfactory knowledge. Good farming practices and support from the government and implementation partners were shown to be effective in enabling the community to resist the effects disasters. This calls for support in designing more focused interventions targeting reduction of these underlying factors as well as involvement of all stakeholders in scaling the effective coping strategies in order to build resilience in this community and other similarly affected areas” (PLOS – ‘Coping Strategies for Landslide and Flood Disasters: A Qualitative Study of Mt. Elgon Region, Uganda’ 11.07.2016).
Since the study is about 4 years old, it is surely is relevant today. It shows the weaknesses in the stakeholders and within the government. That will all the occurring landslides and flooding, have not abided to it. They have not invested nor tried to comprehend the scale of an operation to help the ones in need nor build the strategies for resilience. It is easier to pin the people who build structures, than the ones who allow them and the ones who earn funds on building it.
The Minister should consider that. Not expect it. Since he could easily say this today. He might say something similar tomorrow. Peace.