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Support Uganda’s hungry refugees!

Please help MAF reach even more hungry refugees. Your donations will help fund new shuttle services like this one in Uganda so that isolated people don’t get left behind. Thank you.

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Global crises like the war in Ukraine, the Horn of Africa drought and the Turkey-Syria earthquake are impacting the allocation of humanitarian aid. This has led to severe food rationing in Uganda’s refugee camps – a country which hosts more refugees than any other African country…

With less funding and food to go round, the UN’s World Food Programme has announced further catastrophic cuts, which could seriously affect the health and wellbeing of more than 1.5 million refugees in Uganda (source: Uganda OPM).

According to international NGO forum HINGO, last year’s cuts saw Uganda’s refugees receive between only 26% and 48% of their daily food rations, which could be drastically reduced further by September 2023 if funding is not found.

Children are already malnourished

Four in every ten children are already anaemic and seven out of every 100 under-fives are already suffering from acute malnutrition because of previous cuts.

Boy at Kyangwali Refugee Camp (credit: Candice Lassey)

With ongoing instability from neighbouring South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Somalia, more than 46,000 new refugees have arrived in Uganda since the start of 2023 (source: UNHCR).

MAF’s Ruth Jack says ‘a disaster is unfolding’ in Uganda’s refugee camps (credit: Ruth Jack)

Uganda’s refugee community is growing, but resources are dwindling. With further impending cuts, the future looks bleak for hundreds of thousands of people says MAF Uganda’s Country Director, Ruth Jack:

‘Hundreds of thousands of lives are in danger. Food shortages are already underway – we are seeing hunger-related problems such as stunted growth in children. Perhaps the world will notice when children are facing starvation across Uganda’s refugee communities.

‘As eyes turn towards Ukraine, many lives are being forgotten elsewhere. In Uganda, there is a disaster unfolding and MAF is very busy doing all it can to help vulnerable and isolated communities.’

Ruth Jack, MAF Uganda’s Country Director

Since 1987, MAF and partners have been delivering help, hope and healing to most of Uganda’s refugee camps, which now total 13 including Bidibidi and Adjumani in the north, and Kyangwali in the west.

MAF works with a range of partners including Tearfund, World Vision, Save The Children, the Red Cross and the International Rescue Committee who work tirelessly to improve health, sanitation, education, food security and mental health in the camps.

Children in front of MAF plane at Adjumani (credit: Dave Forney)

Bidibidi in northern Uganda is one of the largest refugee camps in the world (credit: Dave Forney)

Many families reportedly spend decades living in refugee camps (credit: Candice Lassey)

Help fund MAF’s new shuttle service

MAF’s east and west shuttle services to the northern camps, both run three times per week from Kajjansi near the capital, Kampala. The most northerly camp Adjumani only takes one hour and 30 minutes from Kajjansi, saving humanitarian workers 10 hours of dangerous and exhausting road travel.

As the number of refugees increase all over the country, so has the demand for MAF’s services.

In response, MAF will be launching a new twice-weekly shuttle service in September to south west Uganda, which is home to four growing refugee camps: Nakivale, Oruchinga, Kyaka II and Rwamwanja.

With MAF, partners will be able to reach south west Uganda’s remotest refugees in just one hour and 30 minutes instead of 10 hours of overland travel.

MAF’s new shuttle service will save our partners hours of dangerous road travel (credit: Ping Domtta)

We cannot do this without your generous support

Please help MAF reach even more hungry refugees. Your donations will help fund new MAF shuttle services like this one in Uganda so that isolated people don’t get left behind. Thank you.

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About MAF UK

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is the world’s largest humanitarian air operator. For over 75 years we have been flying light aircraft over jungles, mountains, swamps and deserts. We enable more than 1,400 aid, development and mission organisations to bring medical care, emergency relief and long-term development. Our pilots and personnel deliver relief workers, doctors, pastors, school books, food, medicines - everything that can only be safely and speedily delivered by air. Our faithful supporters give and pray to make this all possible.