The minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hilary Onek, has said the country is in dire need of about Shs3 trillion to cater for the surging number of refugees pouring into the country.
The minister made the appeal during a meeting with representatives of donors at his office in Kampala.
He said the refugee crisis remains grossly underfunded yet the refugees are fighting for the limited resources with the locals.
He explained that since the beginning of the year, Uganda has been having an influx of refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through Bunagana border post into Kisoro District, and they expect more.
He added that currently, the country is hosting a total of about 1.5m refugees.
Uganda has over the last two months seen an upsurge in the number of Congolese refugees following renewed fighting between M23 rebels and the Congolese government soldiers.
Onek said the refugee burden must be shared and called upon the international community to support Uganda.
The Ambassador of Denmark to Uganda, Petersen Nicolaj Hejberg, pledged his country’s support to Uganda’s refuge crisis.
The UNHCR representative to Uganda, Joel Boutroue, said they are committed to supporting refugees and host communities in Uganda.
