Experts convene to tackle refugee livelihood challenges
Refugees tussle to receive aid after humanitarian aids were delivered at a refugee camp in Kiryandongo, Bweyale District in midwestern Uganda on April 6, 2024. PHOTO/.MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- Uganda, which hosts 1.7 refugees from Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan, currently faces mounting refugee strain on resources as donor funding decreases.
Experts from various refugee-hosting countries have gathered to address challenges facing refugee livelihoods in Eastern Africa.
The symposium, titled “From evidence to policy: Transforming refugee livelihood strategies in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia,” brought together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and donors from across the region.
Their goal was to collaboratively assess and plan how to use research to inform policies that enhance refugee livelihoods.
Mr Patrick Okello, Uganda’s commissioner for refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister, emphasised Uganda’s role as East Africa’s largest refugee host and discussed the importance of research in shaping effective policies.
“Rigorous research is crucial for shaping effective refugee policies, especially as the global refugee population has doubled since the 2016 New York Declaration, introducing new challenges. We are all aware of the significant and unprecedented global issues affecting refugees, including the vast scale of displacement worldwide, while responsibility-sharing remains alarmingly uneven,” Mr Okello said.
He added: “Three out of every four refugees are hosted in low- and middle-income countries, most of which are near the refugees’ countries of origin.”
Uganda, which hosts 1.7 refugees from Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan, currently faces mounting refugee strain on resources as donor funding decreases.
Mr Okello urged civil society, religious groups, and the private sector to contribute to alleviating the refugee crisis.
In Ethiopia, the third-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa with more than one million refugees, progress has been made in promoting refugee livelihoods.
Freedom
Mr Anteneh Mekasha, the livelihood and job creation team lead at Ethiopia’s Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS), explained that Ethiopia’s new refugee proclamation promotes greater freedom of movement and supports integration into the national socioeconomic agenda.
“We have provided durable solutions for refugees that require the involvement of various stakeholders, including the private sector, academia, and other strategic actors. In collaboration with the National ID Programme and UNHCR, RRS has issued digital IDs to over 11,500 refugees, enabling them to access essential services and financial transactions,” Mr Mekasha said.
He further noted that the Ethiopian government has launched social protection initiatives, such as the World Bank-funded Urban Productive Safety and Jobs Programme, which assists more than 95,000 refugees in joining the labour market.
“RRS has adopted a new directive to grant recognised refugees and asylum seekers access to work permits, residency permits, tax identification numbers, and business licences for over 11,000 refugees, supporting both self-employment and wage-earning opportunities,” Mr Mekasha added.
Mr Daniel Ngari, director of Nairobi County in Kenya, highlighted efforts to address challenges facing refugees in business.
“We started this programme with the IRC about three to four years ago, allowing refugees to directly apply for permits or business licences through our system. Sensitising our officers is crucial so that refugees are treated like other investors, not as competitors for space, as we also allocate them positions in trading centres,” Mr Ngari said.
Some of these proposals are pending Cabinet approval to ensure streamlined support for refugee entrepreneurs.
