US$ 374 million needed for humanitarian and recovery assistance to Uganda in 2008

Kampala, 10 December 2007 - The Government and humanitarian community in Uganda today launched the 2008 Consolidated Appeal for Uganda (CAP 2008), which seeks US$ 373,943,491 to address emergency lifesaving needs and facilitate the recovery of vulnerable groups, including displaced and formerly displaced populations, refugees and those affected by natural hazards in Acholi, Lango, Teso and Karamoja regions.

"The Consolidated Appeal 2008 represents the humanitarian community's commitment to provide appropriate assistance in four key areas: to IDPs and returnees in northern and northeastern Uganda, those suffering from the insecurity and extreme poverty in Karamoja, those affected by disasters caused by natural hazards and to the refugees seeking shelter in Uganda from conflict in their own countries," said United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Théophane Nikyema, speaking at the launch of the CAP 2008.

Working with the Government, the humanitarian community will provide assistance against the backdrop of the continued improvement in humanitarian access and security resulting from the ongoing peace negotiations between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government. This improvement has encouraged a steady stream of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to move out of the displacement camps into transit sites or villages of origin. In Lango, the return process is expected to conclude by the end of 2007. In Acholi, it is expected that 20 per cent of the IDP population will remain in camps by the end of 2008, while 40 per cent will have moved to transit sites from which the IDPs enjoy better access to their own farmland for cultivation. This pattern of movement underscores the need to ensure an effective response that meets needs at all points of the return process.

In Teso, where the return process has been hindered by the continued aggressive activities of illegally armed Karimojong, the humanitarian community will provide material assistance to IDPs and returnees and promote strengthened policing and the protective deployment of Anti Stock Theft Units (ASTUs). The response to needs created by the severe flooding experienced between July and October 2007 will also continue.

Additionally, strengthened coordination between humanitarian, human rights and development initiatives in Karamoja and efforts to meet the needs of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Rwanda, among other countries, will remain key concerns for the humanitarian community in 2008.

The humanitarian community, in cooperation with national and district-level government authorities, has developed the CAP 2008 as a combination of humanitarian and recovery programming that contributes to achievement of the strategic objectives identified within the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) for Northern Uganda in order to ensure a smooth transition from crisis to recovery,

Underscoring the promise of the PRDP, the Humanitarian Coordinator stressed, "If we are successful in our joint efforts to support the implementation of the PRDP, we will see the natural conclusion of humanitarian efforts in northern Uganda within a year of the PRDP's start."

The Consolidated Appeals Process is the principle tool by which the humanitarian, human rights and development communities' work in partnership with the Government to plan, coordinate, fund, implement and monitor humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations. As a planning and programming tool, the CAP promotes a strategic, coordinated, effective and prioritized humanitarian response.

The CAP 2008 represents an ever more inclusive approach to planning for humanitarian and recovery action in Uganda: 45 international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 12 United Nations agencies have appealed for funds through the Uganda CAP 2008, compared to 21 NGOs and 11 UN agencies in CAP 2007.

At US$ 374 million, the Consolidated Appeal for 2008 represents an eight per cent increase over the CAP 2007. Of that total, US$ 164.7 million is for food security.

For more information, please contact: Kristen Knutson, Public Information Officer, OCHA Uganda +256 772 759 996, knutson@un.org; or Lydia Mirembe Ssenyonjo, National Information Officer OCHA Uganda +256 772 749 857, mirembessenyonjo@un.org