Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
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While Uganda’s local integration policies are intended to result in refugees becoming self-
sufficient, most refugees remain dependent on food rations and live in precarious financial
situations. This vulnerability can be exacerbated by cuts to food rations—as happened with
the World Food Programme in early 2015—and the dwindling availability of land plots, as
seen recently in Adjumani District.105 Refugee settlements are often located in remote, poor
parts of Uganda, and livelihoods may be impeded by scarce or poor-quality land, inexperience
in agriculture, and distance from markets or alternative employment opportunities. As part of
Uganda’s National Development Plan, the Settlement Transformative Agenda and ReHoPE
Strategy focus on investing in local infrastructure and promoting sustainable livelihood
opportunities among refugee and host communities through skills training and teaching
effective land management and agronomic practices.
Uganda has sought to integrate refugee services into government infrastructure and services,
and avoid long-term disparities in assistance between refugees and impoverished host
communities. This has taken the form of policies like requiring 30 percent of donor
investments to be made in host communities, and other joint livelihoods projects. While large-
scale arrivals of refugees can place strain on local health systems and schools, it can also result
in much-needed investment in local education and health infrastructure and the increased
availability of services. Consequently, host communities may offer their land for use by
refugees in anticipation of these services and other benefits.
And as Uganda’s refugee population grows, so too does the number of refugees opting to live
outside settlements in areas with more employment or education opportunities. By living
outside the settlements, refugees are assumed to be financially self-sufficient, and
consequently receive little - or no - support. But the high costs of living in cities like Kampala,
and barriers to accessing decent employment or sources of capital to start businesses, mean
that urban refugees often also live in a precarious financial situation and resort to risky
livelihood strategies. NGOs and community organizations offer limited access to financial
support or livelihoods training in urban areas; but additional support could include providing
greater access to sources of capital for renting stalls and establishing businesses or pursuing
other livelihood or education opportunities.
105 Golla, “Is a model refugee policy in Africa doomed?” and World Food Programme, “World Food Programme Forced To
Cut Rations To Some 150,000 Refugees in Uganda,” News update, January 27, 2015,