ReliefWeb

OVERVIEW AND METHODOLOGY

Uganda is one of the top refugee-hosting countries in the world, with a protracted refugee situation and ongoing influxes of refugees from neighboring countries. The country hosts 1,494,505 refugees as of 1 June 2021, with nearly 95% of refugees living in settlements primarily in the West Nile and Southwest regions of Uganda.

In view of this situation, the World Food Programme (WFP) has established a regular market price monitoring system across refugee settlements to inform cash-based response approaches. These monitoring efforts predate the COVID-19 crisis. However, due to the changing situation since the Ugandan government introduced COVID-19 containment measures in mid-March 2020, there is a risk that markets could be significantly affected and beneficiaries receiving cash assistance may not be able to access critical goods. In response, with the technical support of the Market Analysis Task Force and REACH in particular, this market price monitoring system has been expanded to capture crucial information to understand the impact of COVID-19 on commodity prices and functionality of markets in refugee communities across Uganda.

WFP collected the data through key informant (KIs) interviews with traders, individuals selling key commodities, in markets across 13 refugee settlement locations from 1-30 April 2021. Data was collected remotely, using the mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (mVAM) phone-based survey system. Data for sold loose items was collected in person with items purchased and weighted where possible. KIs were purposively sampled, meaning the findings are indicative only. The figures represented in this factsheet are presented at the national and regional levels, unless stated otherwise. In total, 165 traders were interviewed nationwide in this round. Of these, 74 were from the Southwest Region (SWR) and 91 were from the West Nile Region (WNR).