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Date: Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Time: 15:30 WAT
Location: Kyangwali Refugee
Settlement, Uganda
In the aftermath of the US aid suspension to Uganda, refugee-led protection efforts are struggling to replace collapsed humanitarian services.
Along the scorched clay paths of Obongi and
Kikuube, Uganda’s refugee settlements are bracing under the weight of a
deepening crisis. With the collapse of donor-funded services triggered by the
US foreign aid freeze in early 2025, gender-based violence (GBV) response
systems in camps like Kyangwali and Palabek have all but disintegrated.
But
where the system fails, people are rising.
From
peer-led safe spaces in abandoned schools to informal boda-boda rescue patrols
and grassroots WhatsApp referral chains, Uganda’s refugees—particularly women
and youth—are holding the line. Unpaid, untrained, and often unsupported,
they’ve become the nation’s unlikely GBV responders.
“When
the NGO pulled out, we didn’t wait,” said a midwife in Obongi, tending to
survivors with dwindling supplies. “We shared what little we had left.”
Women’s
groups are running trauma circles for girls at risk of early marriage or abuse.
Motorcyclists transport survivors to sparse health outposts. Teen boys, idle
due to school closures and food shortages, risk falling into gangs as
protection networks wear thin.
Across
13 refugee-hosting districts, nearly 1.8 million displaced people now rely on
volunteer-led initiatives once meant to complement—not replace—structured aid.
Market
stalls and tailoring corners have become improvised safety nets, as food
rations were slashed by more than half. Meanwhile, MTN's mobile network—a relic
of earlier cash programmes—now serves as the last coordination tool for
emergency referrals via SMS and WhatsApp.
Still,
even the most committed volunteers are burning out.
“We’re
stretched too thin. No backup, no pay, just prayers,” said a caseworker in
Palabek.
Uganda’s
community GBV protocol remains in theory, but implementation without fuel,
staff, or shelter has become aspirational. As the last humanitarian threads
fray, experts warn of a deeper collapse—not just of GBV response but of
settlement cohesion itself.
Unless
urgent reinvestment reaches the frontline, Uganda’s refugee protection model
may be on the brink of failure.
🏷️Tags: Refugee Crisis, Gender-Based Violence, Uganda
Humanitarian, ZigHumanitarian, Kyangwali, Community Protection
#Refugees
#GBVResponse #GrassrootsProtection #ZigHumanitarian #Kyangwali #UgandaNews
#DonorCuts #CommunityResilience
Nanfuka Fatuma
The New
Humanitarian
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