United Nations job cuts rock Uganda workers

The cuts, according to sources familiar with the ongoing process, threaten not only the stability of these workers’ livelihoods but also the continuity and quality of services for refugees and host communities.

The job cuts, Saturday Monitor can reveal, have mostly taken the shape of abolishing the roles that the employees were occupying.
Several reasons have been cited to justify the job cuts, including the global socio-political climate, decreased revenue and other factors that are leading to financial constraints.

Separate sources, who declined to discuss the specifics of the development, cite a tense atmosphere at some of the affected agencies. For example, a football match between two agencies was called off at the last minute because workers at one of the agencies were informed about the job cuts. Weeks later, the workers at the other agencies also learned of their fate.

Local and international staff have all been affected, including local staff who were recently hired and have now been informed they will have to leave. We were informed that expatriates, especially those with contracts that are about to end, were informed that those contracts would not be renewed.
Saturday Monitor has established that all the UN agencies in the country will be affected, but the job cuts have been most severe at Unicef and UNHCR.

Some of the affected staff at Unicef, for example, will conclude their service with the entity at the end of December, while others will depart at the end of June 2024.
On September 26, Saturday Monitor raised the issue of UN worker retrenchment in the country. Ms Susan Ngongi Namondo, the current UN resident coordinator in Uganda, in an emailed response, said a number of factors globally have affected donor funding for humanitarian and development work.

“These include the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the global economic downturn; and corresponding inflationary pressures have increased the cost of doing business, including staffing. This has affected UN operations in Uganda, including some reductions in personnel,” Ms Namondo wrote.

She added that the “realignment process” is not specific to Uganda but is happening in other countries as well.

“All separations are guided by UN Staff Rules. The UN system in Uganda remains committed to supporting the government and people of Uganda as they work towards their development goals within the available resource envelope, whilst we strive for the highest standards of service delivery,” Ms Namondo said.
 
Structural review
Matthew Crentsil, UNHCR’s representative in Uganda, in a response to a Saturday Monitor inquiry, said the UNHCR operation in Uganda is undergoing a structural and staffing review, which he said is part of a global exercise being conducted by all UNHCR operations/offices, including the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and all the regional bureaus and entities. He said the exercise is guided by instructions from the UNHCR. 

“The reviews are being conducted against the backdrop of a global economic decline, shrinking donor contributions resulting in significant reductions in financial resources available to UNHCR, increasing displacements/humanitarian crises around the world, and increasing needs of the displaced,” he said.

Overall, there will be an eight percent reduction of UNHCR staff in Uganda by 2024. The UNHCR offices and entities around the globe, we have been informed, are conducting similar reviews that will result in staff reductions of up to 10 percent or more.
UNHCR is an agency responsible for protecting and assisting refugees and displaced persons around the world. Uganda is one of the countries where UNHCR operates to provide assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers.

Uganda has been hosting a significant number of refugees from neighbouring countries, especially South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Burundi. UNHCR, along with various partners such as the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), which is involved in providing essential services and support to these refugees. The work revolves around refugee protection, shelter and basic needs, education, community integration, among other things.

Implications
As of August 31, Uganda is host to 1,513,856 refugees, according to data from UNHCR and OPM. A January UNHCR report notes that without additional funding, critical service reductions and operational cuts are imminent, which will disproportionately affect refugees and their host communities. These cutbacks, the report says, will lead to a decline in food security, with maternal and child health and nutrition programmes receiving only 50 percent of their rations. 

Education will suffer, as there will be fewer teachers, larger class sizes, and no support for students with disabilities. Health services will deteriorate, with a significant reduction in healthcare workers and patient contacts, putting the well-established referral system at risk. 

Deforestation, the report adds, will continue, exposing vulnerable populations to gender-based violence, while household cooking energy and tree planting initiatives will be deprioritised. Dependency on humanitarian assistance will persist, leaving households without support, and those at increased risk of vulnerability will lack the necessary assistance. Additionally, reduced funding for communication channels will leave urgent protection issues unaddressed, and sanitation services for refugees will fall far short of the required standards, posing health risks.

Unicef affected
Dr M. Munir A. Safieldin, the Unicef country representative, says the Unicef Uganda country office conducted a five-year plan the organisation is working under which revealed that the actual funding available fell short by 34 percent compared to initial projections.

Saturday Monitor was unable to establish how many jobs will be lost to the realignment process.
Unicef is the UN agency dedicated to promoting the well-being and rights of children worldwide and works to provide children with access to healthcare, clean water, nutrition, education, protection from violence and exploitation, and other essential services.

Compared to local employers, UN agencies in the country have a reputation for offering attractive remuneration packages such as competitive pay and benefits and so workers will probably take steep pay cuts if they are lucky to find new jobs. That in itself will be hard given the funding crisis within Ugandan civil society.
 

UN in Uganda
About 27 UN entities have offices in Uganda. These include the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), International Trade Center (ITC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organisation (WHO), among others.

The UN Resident Coordinator Office coordinates and facilitates the work of various UN agencies, programmes, and funds in Uganda. The resident coordinator is the highest-ranking UN official in the country and serves as the principal representative of the UN Secretary-General.