The Japanese government has extended a grant of $500,000 (about Shs2.2 billion) to support food security, nutrition and livelihood improvement among refugees and host communities in western Uganda.
The funding, provided under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects scheme, was officially handed over on Monday during a contract signing ceremony between the Embassy of Japan and the humanitarian organisation, Peace Winds Japan.
The grant will finance the second year of a two-year project in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, which hosts more than 130,000 refugees in Kyegegwa District, the majority of whom fled conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sasayama Takuya said the project aims to strengthen agricultural production, improve nutrition and enhance livelihoods among both refugees and members of the host community.
‘Uganda continues to host one of the largest refugee populations in the world, and stable access to food, income as well as adequate nutrition remains a significant challenge,’ Mr Sasayama said.
He said the project will build on gains made during its first year by expanding crop-processing facilities, strengthening links between farmer groups and agricultural cooperatives, and scaling up nutrition-awareness campaigns across a wider area.
According to the ambassador, the intervention will establish both physical and institutional structures to help communities improve agricultural productivity, increase household incomes and strengthen food security.
Mr Sasayama noted that the initiative aligns with commitments under the Tokyo International Conference on African Development framework, which seeks to promote sustainable agricultural production and community resilience across Africa.
The Country Representative of Peace Winds Japan, Inoue Keiko, welcomed the funding, saying it comes at a time when refugee communities are facing growing food insecurity due to climate change and declining humanitarian support.
‘We realised that we have to utilise and maximise the potential of the refugees, especially by enhancing their resilience,’ Dr Inoue said.
She explained that the organisation’s earlier interventions focused on equipping farmers with climate-smart agricultural skills to improve food security and nutrition, but additional investments were required to achieve sustainable outcomes.
Under the new phase, Peace Winds Japan will focus on strengthening farmer organisations and improving infrastructure that enables refugees and host communities to work together in agricultural production and marketing.
Dr Inoue said nearly 70 percent of both refugees and nationals living around the settlement depend on agriculture for their livelihoods but continue to face increasing food insecurity driven by climate shocks and reductions in international aid.
She expressed optimism that the project would strengthen community resilience and improve the livelihoods of vulnerable households in Kyaka II.
Uganda hosts more than 1.8 million refugees, making it one of the world’s largest refugee-hosting countries, with most refugees originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan.