In recent weeks, the world’s attention has been fixed on the tragedy in Aleppo – and on the prospect of yet more refugees flooding across Syria’s borders.
Yet 2,000 miles away in Africa, another crisis is unfolding which could have equally appalling humanitarian consequences, and is getting only a fraction of the attention.
South Sudan only became a country in 2011, but has spent most of its life engulfed in conflict of one kind of another. In 2013, a full-fledged civil war broke out, after President Salva Kiir Mayardit accused his vice-president, Riek Machar, of planning a coup.
A peace deal was signed in 2015 – but broke down in July 2016, causing the violence to reignite and displacing millions of South Sudanese. More than a million of these fled to neighbouring countries, putting enormous pressure on their infrastructure.
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The worst of these pressures are felt in Uganda. This country has long been praised for having some of the world’s most progressive policies towards refugees, providing them with houses, food and free education. So it is no surprise that thousands of South Sudanese are fleeing there: every day, on average, more than 2,400 cross the border into Uganda, with more than 300,000 having arrived since July. The largest settlement camp, Bidibidi, has now reached maximum capacity, with a population of 221,674 as of November 15th.
The strain is starting to show. As the camps become more tightly packed, disease spreads more easily. But there are insufficient numbers of healthcare workers, who were already hugely overworked.
There is also a lack of water, with some locations in Bidibidi receiving no more than seven litres per person per day: Uganda therefore relies on UN tanks to bring water to the camp – a process which is costly and inefficient.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to cut food rations in half for all but the newest and neediest arrivals – so acute malnutrition has risen, making these refugees more susceptible to conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and respiratory disease.
There are also huge strains on the camp’s wider infrastructure. Given the influx of refugees, 89% of whom are women and children, there are extremely high ratios of pupils to classrooms. Even something as simple as requests to trace refugees’ loved ones within a particular camp, or across the network, puts a strain on official resources.
It is no surprise that Uganda is beginning to buckle under the pressure of this refugee crisis. Yet the UNHCR is facing critical funding shortages, having received only about 20% of the $608.8m needed to help refugees both in South Sudan and in the six neighbouring asylum countries, including Uganda.
Without this funding, the organisation will simply be unable to cope with the crisis – as will the WFP, which also needs increased funding to feed the South Sudanese refugee population.
The WFP currently has a shortfall of around $27m for the next six months, with $8m a month needed to feed all the refugees in Uganda. Although the World Bank’s International Development Association has approved a grant of $50m to Uganda to provide relief, this will not be enough to support all the refugees until they are self-sufficient.
Elsewhere on CapX
South Sudan: a lesson to the world in how not to build a nation
Localisation would help alleviate global suffering
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Compared to other world news, the situation in Uganda and South Sudan has garnered relatively little attention. But the international community needs to recognise the crisis that is occurring – not just in order to help the refugees, but to help bring an end to the civil war.
Ultimately, until conflict subsides in South Sudan, more civilians will flee to neighbouring countries and continue to put pressure on resources. We need to treat not just the symptoms of this crisis, but its causes.
