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WFP calls for humanitarian assistance for Burundian refugees

Tuesday, 02 June 2015 9:24 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 02 June 2015 9:24 PM ]

Daniel Arapmoi

Press TV, Kampala

Over 5-thousand Burundian refugees who have fled to Uganda are in dire need of food. The World Food Program has appealed for one-point-seven million dollars to help the refugees.

There has been a spike in the inflow of Burundian refugees into Uganda with more expected to arrive in the absence of a solution to the political crisis in Bujumbura.

The majority of the new refugees are arriving through the Tanzanian border and heading to western Ugandan settlement of Nakivale.

WFP is assisting the refugees, who are arriving through the Uganda-Tanzania border, primarily with cooked meals and monthly food rations.

According to WFP, the government of Uganda and humanitarian partners are working with a contingency plan of 15,000 Burundian refugees for the remainder of the year, including a pre-existing number of about 12,000 mostly resident in Western Uganda.

According to the world food body, an inter-agency contingency plan for 15,000 Burundian refugees for the rest of 2015 will cost 1.7 million dollars.

WFP is currently able to assist the new arrivals within the current level of resourcing for all refugees although the body says new funding will be required in order to sustain operations.

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