EMBARGOED TO THE MEDIA UNTIL TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2003, 1100 HRS NEW YORK TIME

Uganda

CONSOLIDATED APPEAL

SUMMARY

Worsening situation

Over one million people are displaced in Uganda. More than half a million have been affected by drought. Another 200,000 refugees, mainly Sudanese, live in the country.

The number of IDPs has increased sharply in the last year or more. Until recently, only people in Gulu, Kitgum, Pader and Katakwi were affected. Now people in Apac, Lira, Kaberamaido, and Soroti have also been affected. An estimated 1.2 million people are displaced in all these areas.

Since July 2002 and during most of 2003, the humanitarian situation in Uganda has worsened. The situation looks equally bleak for 2004, due to the expansion of the Lord's Resistance Army's (LRA) attacks into the Teso sub-region. The LRA has continued to use its bases in southern Sudan to launch attacks into northern districts, and now four central eastern districts too.

Living conditions for IDPs in camps and public places are horrendous. Food stocks are mainly those provided by the humanitarian community; water supply is insufficient; sanitation is poor; health and education service provision is minimal. Many trained district health workers and teachers have fled the conflict areas.

The threat posed by the LRA also precludes farming, the mainstay of livelihoods in the area. Insecurity along the roads has made most of the camps inaccessible for delivery of vital food and other assistance, unless under heavy military escort.

Fearing abduction, every night, tens of thousands of children are forced to leave their homes. They walk for hours from surrounding villages to reach the relative safety of major towns in Gulu and Kitgum, only to return to their homes in the morning. These 'night commuters' sleep under verandas, in schools, in hospital courtyards, in bus parking places.

Access, protection

The humanitarian emergency is far from over in Uganda and should be properly dealt with. The main challenges to the humanitarian community are to:

• Secure regular humanitarian access to camps
• Increase overall protection of affected populations
• Support any peace initiative that could lead to the alleviation of suffering

Given security constraints, the humanitarian community (UN agencies, national and international NGOs) plan to keep working towards the CAP strategic goals.

Greater access to vulnerable people must be accompanied by increased security and safety facilitated by the Government, agencies and donors.

Request

For the 2004 Uganda CAP, the humanitarian community requests US$ 127,901,055.

Funding Requirements in 2004
(US$)