Xavier Sticker, the ambassador of France to Uganda, has announced a Ꞓ500,000 donation to the Nakivale and Kyangwali refugee settlements in southwestern Uganda.
The announcement was made recently at his residence in Nakasero, Kampala. To implement the project, Sticker said the money will be channelled through Action Against Hunger and its Uganda Nutrition and Resilience project.
Between 2019 and 2021, the embassy of France in Uganda donated approximately Ꞓ900,000 to support efforts by Action Against Hunger to improve food security and resilience in the refugee camps of Kyangwali (2019-2021) and Nakivale (2021).
Sticker added that although the financial muscle of both the World Food Programme and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees is reducing, the need for humanitarian support to refugee-hosting countries like Uganda remained high on the agenda of the French government.
According to Sticker, the 12-month project will enable 2000 households in Kyangwali and Nakivale refugee settlements to achieve sustainable improvement in their nutrition and food security status.
The programme is tailored to protect the most vulnerable individuals, like pregnant/lactating women, and children aged below two years.
"For 1,000 at-risk households, we will directly increase their access to more diversified nutritional diets and food through the provision of fresh food vouchers worth Shs 100,000 a month," Ritah Kabanyoro, Action Against Hunger's country director, added.
She added, "We will also improve the nutritional status of 1,000 refugees and host community households through self-production of diversified nutritious foods at home; support 600 households to do large-scale agricultural production for food security and self-reliance; and undertake social and behaviour change communication at household and community levels to improve feeding practices and raise awareness of malnutrition prevention and treatment."
Since 2017, the French embassy has contributed Ꞓ3,040,000 to food security, health and economic empowerment towards humanitarian projects for refugees and host communities in Uganda. Uganda currently hosts over one-and- half-million refugees in the different settlements spread out across the country.
