U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
Uganda - Complex Emergency
Situation Report #1, Fiscal Year (FY) 2003    November 18, 2002


BACKGROUND

Separate armed conflicts in northern and western Uganda, combined with
violent looting and cattle raids by Karamojong pastoralists in the East,
have resulted in high levels of internal displacement.  More than 600,000
people were displaced as of July 2002, according to the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).  Food
security, even in typically productive agricultural areas, has been
threatened by the ongoing conflicts, and insecurity has frequently
obstructed the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Since 1987, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, has
waged an insurgency in northern Uganda, primarily using southern Sudan as
a base for attacks on government forces and civilians.  LRA attacks have
displaced approximately three quarters of the ethnic Acholi population in
the Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader Districts.  During the course of the conflict,
the LRA has abducted approximately 14,000 children for the purposes of
forced conscription and sexual exploitation.  Prior to April 2002,
northern Uganda had enjoyed 18 months of relative stability.  Although
more than 400,000 Ugandans were temporarily displaced, most returned to
their farms during the day.  Continued attacks and unsuccessful cease-fire
negotiations led the Government of Uganda (GOU) to launch Operation Iron
Fist in March 2002.  Under an agreement with the Government of Sudan
(GOS), the GOU sent 10,000 Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) troops
into southern Sudan to disable the LRA's rear camps located in southern
Sudan.  As a result of this operation, LRA fighters have infiltrated into
northern Uganda, attacking villages and camps and creating a complex
humanitarian emergency.


NUMBERS AT A GLANCE                          SOURCE

IDPs                  Total: 660,373         UN OCHA (July 31, 2002) (1)

Refugees in Uganda    Total: 188,032         UN OCHA (July 31, 2002)
                      161,702 from Sudan
                       17,211 from Rwanda
                        7,837 from the DRC
                          766 from Somalia
                          177 from Burundi
                          125 from Kenya
                           41 from Ethiopia
                          173 other urban
                              refugees (mixed)

(1) As of November 18.  These are the most recent figures released by UN
OCHA.


Total FY 2002-FY 2003 USAID/OFDA Assistance to Uganda   $1,478,862
Total FY 2002-FY 2003 USG Humanitarian Assistance to Uganda   $24,206,433


CURRENT SITUATION

Northern Uganda - Continuing Insecurity

Northern Uganda has experienced a resurgence of insecurity resulting from
recent LRA incursions.  As a result of the GOU's practice during the past
six years of relocating the population into protected camps, a majority of
the population in the affected districts remain housed in camps.
Beginning in June 2002, up to 2,000 LRA soldiers entered Uganda from
southern Sudan, and have been systematically attacking military
detachments and IDP and refugee camps in Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader districts
since then.  LRA attacks have also recently occurred outside of the usual
zones of conflict, in the Lira, Apac, and Adjumani districts.


On August 5, 2002, the LRA attacked the Acholpii Refugee Camp in Pader
District (360 km north of Kampala), displacing more than 24,000 refugees
who had fled the fighting in Sudan.  The LRA instructed residents to leave
the camps, against instructions issued by the UPDF to remain.  Following
the attacks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
helped evacuate the refugees to Kiryandongo Camp and Kyangwali Camp in
central and southern Uganda.  Recent estimates place the number of newly
displaced in the region at 100,000.  Many people relocate into Gulu and
Kitgum towns at night for safety, while returning to their villages during
the daylight hours to tend their fields.

In early October, the GOU directed the remaining civilians in northern
Uganda, who were not residing in IDP camps, to report to a camp.  This
order was not implemented uniformly, and compliance has been mixed.  If
adhered to, this forced displacement could mean that an additional 400,000
IDPs would join the current 600,000 already residing in camps.  This order
was invoked to allow the UPDF to carry out a major offensive against the
LRA.  The GOU action followed an LRA attack on the Maaji refugee
settlement in northern Adjumani District on October 3, during which 65
huts were burned and five government soldiers were killed, according to
international media reports.

On October 15, media reports indicated that the LRA had killed
approximately 17 civilians in the Apac and Lira districts.  There were
also reports that the LRA killed 56 unarmed civilians in the Agago
sub-county of Pader District.  On October 17, UN OCHA reported that the
humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda had worsened due to numerous
attacks by the LRA on civilians, despite the arrival of government
military reinforcements in the region.  Local inhabitants do not have much
confidence in a military solution, and many support an effort by religious
leaders to mediate a cease-fire.


Food Insecurity

The ongoing skirmishes in northern Uganda have resulted in increased
levels of food insecurity.  Lack of access to local populations has
restricted the efforts of humanitarian organizations to deliver emergency
assistance.  The lack of security in affected areas has also prevented any
comprehensive assessments of food stocks from being conducted.  Food
insecurity is likely to increase over the coming months due to the
combined effects of people being unable to access their land and lack of
rainfall in parts of Kitgum and Pader districts.  The present planting and
growing season is virtually lost, and the next realistic date for a
significant harvest in northern Uganda is August 2003.


Deteriorating Health Situation

The dense population concentrations in the camps and the few urban and
rural areas that are considered safe have strained local capacities and
left thousands of people without shelter or access to basic services.
Malnutrition, malaria, respiratory infections, pneumonia, intestinal
worms, and diarrhea are common among IDPs.  Inadequate sanitation and
water supplies and long distances to health centers exacerbate the overall
health situation.  In addition, the LRA is attacking health centers and
looting medicine and medical supplies in northern Uganda, and as a result
many health center staff have fled.

Effects of the DRC Conflict on Uganda On August 15, the governments of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda signed an agreement
outlining the withdrawal of Ugandan troops from the DRC and the
normalization of relations between the two countries.  In accordance with
the agreement, Uganda withdrew nearly 2,200 troops by the beginning of
October.  Only two Ugandan battalions remain in the Bunia region of the
DRC to ensure civilian security until the arrival of U.N. peacekeeping
troops.  Refugees fleeing conflict in the DRC continue to enter western
Uganda.


USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

On August 9, 2002, U.S. Charge d'Affaires Donald Teitelbaum declared a
disaster in response to the escalating insecurity and deteriorating
humanitarian situation in northern Uganda.  USAID/OFDA provided $50,000
through the U.S. Embassy to the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) to support
the distribution of non- food commodities, including blankets, jerry cans,
kitchen sets, and tarpaulins for temporary shelter.

USAID/OFDA assessment teams traveled to the Gulu District in northern
Uganda on August 7 and September 30 to evaluate the humanitarian situation
in the region.  In response to the humanitarian crisis, USAID/OFDA
provided approximately $1.5 million to support programs in health, water
and sanitation, and coordination, as well as to supply emergency non-food
items, through UN OCHA, CARE, the International Rescue Committee (IRC),
the UCRS, Action Contre le Faim (ACF), and the Associazione Volontaria per
il Servizio Internazionale (AVSI).

In FY 2002, USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided 28,660
MT of P.L. 480 Title II emergency food assistance to WFP, valued at
approximately $15.5 million.  USAID/FFP funding supported WFP's Protracted
Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO), which assisted approximately 500,000
IDPs and refugees affected by food insecurity in Uganda.

In FY 2002, USAID/Uganda supplied $90,000 in humanitarian assistance
through UCRS, AVSI, Save the Children/Denmark, and Catholic Relief
Services in response to the declared disaster.  Northern Uganda, and other
conflict areas in Uganda, are a primary focus of USAID's relief and
development programming.

In FY 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided 1,489 MT of
416(b) surplus food commodities to Uganda to assist in emergency food
needs.  The more than $800,000 worth of surplus food commodities includes
1,279 MT of cornmeal, 150 MT of vegetable oil, and 60 MT of corn-soy blend
for WFP's PRRO.  In addition, USDA provided 250 MT of vegetable oil for
school feeding programs, valued at $165,000.

In FY 2002, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees,
and Migration (State/PRM)  provided more than $6.2 million in support of
humanitarian assistance programs for refugees and host communities in
Uganda.  State/PRM funding supported programs in health, education,
environment, and sexual and gender-based violence, through UNHCR, WFP, the
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IRC,
Lutheran World Federation, and to the Ambassador's Fund in Uganda.



U.S. GOVERNMENT HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO UGANDA IN FY 2002-FY 2003

Agency
Implementing Partner
Sector
Regions
Amount



USAID  	$16,978,862
USAID/OFDA 	$1,478,862

UN  OCHA
Coordination
Nationwide
$100,000

ACF
Nutrition
Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader Districts
$356,959

AVSI
Emergency non-food items, water and sanitation
Kitgum and Pader Districts
$231,560

CARE
Emergency health assistance and support for IDPs
Gulu District
$359,890

IRC
Water and sanitation
Kitgum and Lira Districts
$380,453

Uganda Red Cross
Emergency non-food items
Gulu
$50,000



USAID/FFP	$15,500,000

World Food Program (WFP)
P.L. 480 Title II Emergency Food Assistance – 28,660 MT
Country-wide
$15,500,000



USDA	$1,014,347

WFP

Section 416(b) Surplus Food Commodities - 1,489 MT to the PRRO; 250 MT for
  school feeding
Country-wide
$1,014,347



STATE/PRM 	$6,213,224

Ambassador's Fund
School reconstruction for Congolese refugees
Kyangwali Camp, Central Uganda
$19,999

IFRC
Camp management, health, water and sanitation
Southwestern Uganda
$40,000

IRC
Health and sanitation assistance for Sudanese refugees
Northern Uganda
$677,226

LWF
Support to Sudanese refugees
Northern Uganda
$632,999

UNHCR
Refugee support programs
Country-wide
$3,130,000

UNHCR
Support for environmental programs
Country-wide
$300,000

UNHCR
Support for children's programs
Country-wide
$400,000

WFP
Refugee Support
Country-wide
$950,000

WFP
Full Cost Recovery
Country-wide
$63,000


Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Uganda in FY 2002-FY 2003
$24,206,433


USAID funding figure includes International Disaster Assistance funding
provided by USAID/OFDA and USAID/FFP and does not reflect $90,000 provided
through USAID/Uganda for relief and development programming.

State/PRM figures include only Uganda-specific funding, and do not include
unearmarked funding for UNHCR and IFRC Africa-wide programs.



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