What Will Kill Refugees First: COVID-19 or Hunger?

Project overview

As part of the Uganda government’s response to contain COVID-19, a number of directives and guidelines were announced on June 18th, 2021. Little is known about how vulnerable communities were coping with the pandemic. Refugees perceive hunger as a bigger threat to them than COVID-19. During the 2020 lockdown, COVID-19 directly increased food insecurity among refugees in Uganda. The lockdown and related economic strain directly led to starvation among urban refugees. Lifestyle issues relating to health and nutrition are also constrained in urban refugees; for example, during the 2020 lockdown where there was an increase in food insecurity, we provided emergency food relief and nonfood items to 497 households including single mothers, families at risk, and the homeless to contribute to build frontiers and avoid the spread of Covid-19. This initiative contributed to help refugees stay at home with enough food to eat, and avoid unnecessary movement that would lead many to get arrested. This was a grass roots effort organized by OneYouth OneHeart, a refugee led organization that relies on the generous donations of well-wishers from a small network of friends who know the founders and want to help.

Knowing that the COVID-19 pandemic is a threat to all of us, it is important to note on the other hand that measures put in place to curb it without consideration to provide food to the needy among urban refugees is more life-threatening. When the 2020 lockdown measures were lifted, we stopped food and non-food items distribution to urban refugees. As a result, our records show over 1000 refugee households registered with a need for food support. This is to say that urban refugees and vulnerable Ugandans did not get enough time to recover from the effects of the first lockdown and now their vulnerability is further being heightened by the current lockdown. To point out, urban refugees do not receive food from UNHCR, or WFP or other international organizations like refugees do in the settlements. Putting the urban refugee in total lockdown further heightened refugee vulnerability, and is exacerbated by the breakdown of social structures and refugees not being allowed to travel to the neighboring county or outside the districts to get food.

With this second lockdown, it has caused a financial hit and increased food insecurity among urban refugees in Uganda, but we’re hopeful that we’ll recover from it swiftly. We seek to raise $5,000 to provide emergency food relief to a minimum of 600 households to contribute to build frontiers and avoid the spread of Covid-19. Our consortium of refugee-led organizations stands in solidarity to purchase and deliver these supplies to many that are near to us in our own communities. For known vulnerable individuals and families who live in inaccessible areas, we will send mobile money to the family such that they can purchase these supplies from small sellers near to them. It only takes 100 well-wishers to donate $50 each to reach this goal. However, any donation helps us to make a difference! We estimate approximately $20 USD (70,000UGX) to buy the necessary supplies per relief package. Please support us to keep refugees safe, at home, and out of harm's way from continuing a “hawking” business that subjects them to arrest and disease.

If you’re looking for ways to support us during this downtime, here are so few options that would mean so much:

• Share this post to your friends, family members, Facebook timeline, and WhatsApp groups
• Donate your finances through this campaign. Every dollar counts ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100). All of your support will go toward keeping urban refugees safe through the provision of food during this difficult period.

This is an occasion to rebuild empathy and understanding for refugees. We must remember that Uganda hosts more than 1.4 million refugees, behind each number is a person forced from their home and a tragic story of displacement, dispossession, and suffering.

Your support towards our brothers and sisters forced to flee goes a long way in ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid as well as finding long-lasting solutions to their plight.

With gratitude