BY JIBRIL TURE

In a statement attributed to the U.S. State Department’s spokesperson Ned Price on Friday, July 15, the United States pledges more than $592 million in humanitarian assistance for Africa.

The announcement was made in Kampala, Uganda today by Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Julieta Valls Noyes. The aid will be provided through the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The beneficiaries of this massive, lifesaving support are refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, forcibly displaced and persecuted people across Africa, not to mention those affected by crises in the Horn, the Sahel, and other emergency situations.

Uganda remains the largest refugee host on the continent with more than 1.5 million refugees and asylum seekers. That explains why this aid package especially targets Uganda. According to the State Department:

This announcement includes more than $82 million for humanitarian assistance in Uganda, including more than $61 million in humanitarian assistance from the State Department and $21 million from USAID. The Department’s funding consists of more than $41 million to the United Nations Refugee Agency and nearly $20 million to other programs supporting essential services such as health, education, protection, and income-generating activities. USAID’s $21 million will support general food assistance and comprehensive nutrition programming for refugees as well as complement ongoing food security support in the Karamoja sub-region of Uganda.

Click here to read more