Baratuku refugee settlement

Baratuku refugee settlement is a refugee settlement in Adjumani district Uganda^[1]

Background[]

This refugee settlement was initially established in 1991, and has hosted successive waves of South Sudanese refugees since the Second Sudanese War. The settlement’s current population consists of South Sudanese refugees from the 1990s, who were not able to return home, and recent arrivals who have fled the country since 2013.^[2]

Gaps & challenges[]

According to the Uganda Refugee Response Monitoring Settlement Fact Sheet^[3] for Baratuku settlement carried out by the UNCHCR - January 2018, various gaps and challenges have been identified from research carried out and await immediate and sustainable response to by the Government of Uganda and the various implementing NGOs.

Refugees lack adequate materials to construct and reinforce semi-permanent houses. In particular, plastic sheeting and other roofing materials are needed. Because of the lack of materials, refugees attempt to gather wood and grass from surrounding areas to reinforce their homes, which contradicts existing laws about environmental use. Refugees also reported that there are not enough persons with specific needs (PSN) shelters, especially for disabled and elderly refugees.There is a lack of materials to construct household latrines, including slabs, poles, and roofing materials. Residents resort to sharing latrines with neighbours or open defecation in the absence of these facilities.

Food and nutrition[]

This is a persistent challenge since Households are not able to grow sufficient food to supplement their small food rations because their allocated plots are not large enough to cultivate.^[4]

Humanitarian organizations have begun to shift from emergency response to stabilization. With some emergency-focused partner organizations scaling down or ending their operations, it is critical that gaps in assistance are filled to ensure refugees have sufficient support.^[5]

Healthcare[]

Services to do with health care and sanitation are inadequate for the settlement population. There is only one health center for refugees in Baratuku camp which also serves large

populations of Ugandan nationals and other refugees from and makes service delivery so slow and insufficient to refugees. It therefore has a greater impact for the young and elderly since they are prone to infections and disease outbreaks.

Speaking frankly about their decision to use family planning,after surviving conflict and enduring a perilous journey to Uganda, the reduced number of refugees at Baratuku refugee settlement are unwilling to allow social pressure to interfere with their families or their futures as their family planning strategies are being put to implementation.^[6]

Education[]

The sole secondary school that serves school-age youth in Baratuku refugee settlement is located far away

from the settlement, making it difficult for students to get there. Even for refugee families that live near the school, many have limited

livelihoods opportunities and cannot afford tuition and related school costs which poses a great challenge to the young uneducated generation.^[3][7]

At the Global Refugee Forum, Education Cannot Wait commits to investing in multi-year programmes for refugees and host-community children which initiative seeks to relinquish the refugees of their dire need for educational resources and providence of scholastics, this gives the refugees and Host communities at the Baratuku refugee settlement to enjoy a chance to be free in educational sector reinforcement.^[8]

References[]