As of December 2020, 86,730 individuals (67,492 refugees and 20,665 asylum-seekers) are registered in Kampala. The establishment of the new Urban Refugee Working Group has led to urban refugees being assisted in an increasingly coordinated manner. Assessments conducted within the urban program found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected refugee livelihoods and led to negative coping mechanisms. Through this improved coordination, refugees registered in Kampala, in particular the extremely vulnerable, were able to access support.
The Kampala Refugee Desk was relocated to a new facility to improve facilitation of the screening process. Training was provided to increase the capacity of the responsible government bodies for refugee status determination (RSD), including OPM, REC and RAB, to ensure a fair and efficient decision-making process. UNHCR supported OPM to advocate for the extension of asylum-seekers certificates due to the challenges in renewal because of the lockdown.
Access to justice for people of concern, including provision of legal assistance, support to through mobile courts, access to alternative dispute resolution and outreach in the COVID-19 context was achieved through collaboration with key stakeholders in the Justice Law and Order Sector.
UNHCR and partners responded to an increase in cases of gender-based violence linked to the COVID-19 pandemic through the active mobilization of the community-based structures. A total of 55 people of concern (25F, 30M) were trained on prevention and response to gender-based violence. A total of 3,769 individuals in Kampala were reached through community dialogues and a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness on gender-based violence, and 338 survivors were supported with comprehensive case management.
Urban partners increased the level of community participation in collaboration with an active base of refugee-led organizations were active in providing support to fellow refugees. UNHCR and partners worked with refugee leaders to scale-up community mobilization and outreach targeting People of concern and the host population, including in relation to peaceful coexistence.
Out of a resettlement quota of 2,050 refugees, UNHCR Uganda submitted 1,396 refugees to Sweden, Norway, Canada, France, Australia, Finland and the United State of America. 63% of the refugees submitted for resettlement are urban refugees in Kampala, while 37% live in the settlements. Urban refugees submitted are mainly from DRC (75%), Somalia (7%), Rwanda (5%) and Burundi (5%), with the rest from other countries. On complementary pathways, the focus has been on international scholarships, mainly with Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany (134 students supported) and family reunification (60 families supported) with refugees in a third country.
Collaboration with local authorities on education-related issues is strengthened in accordance with the CRRF. Schools with the highest number of people of concern students are supported with furniture and equipment. Children with special learning needs are assisted to access education and their parents are supported with livelihood activities as well as training on parenting skills. Students are supported to enhance their English language skills, including by exploring collaboration with existing language schools and identifying language training capacities among People of concern.
Several organizations working within the urban program provided support to refugees to strengthen self-reliance. Urban People of concern were supported to engage in wage employment and micro-enterprises opportunities through micro, small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurship, and market-led vocational skills trainings. Some were supported to access microfinance services. Assistance was provided to urban refugees through various skills training and startup kits as well as linkage to employment opportunities.
Access to health services continued to be provided through the national health system and specialized health facilities in Kampala at the same level as host population. Refugee desks were established at three referral hospitals.