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South Sudan Situation: Uganda Refugee Response Plan - Midyear Update, January - June 2017

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Uganda
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UNHCR
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Country update

In the first semester of 2017 alone, 316,782 new refugees from South Sudan sought safety in Uganda citing fears of physical and sexual violence, political uncertainty, forced recruitment of children, looting and conflict-induced famine as reasons for fleeing their country of origin. In May 2017 the RRP planning figure was revised upwards from 300,000 to 400,000 refugees to reflect the higher rate of arrivals in the first quarter of the year compared to initial projections.

The refugee response provided all new arrivals with reception assistance at entry points and collection centres as well as relocation to settlements.

The Refugee Department of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) continued to carry out registration and documentation. In the settlements, new arrivals received monthly food rations, household items and access to health care, education, water and sanitation facilities and protection services. They were also allocated a plot of land for housing and farming - donated by host communities.

With a continuously growing population, the Uganda Operation opened two new refugee settlements in 2017, which hosted about 135,000 refugees by the end of June 2017. By then, a new site within to accommodate an additional 40,000 people has started.

The President of Uganda and the United Nations Secretary General convened in June 2017 the Solidarity Summit on Refugees in Kampala to rally international support for refugees and their host communities, raising over US $344 million in pledges