Uganda bars new Somali, Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees as aid funding falls

Mogadishu (HOL) — Uganda has stopped granting refugee status to asylum seekers from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, saying those countries are no longer considered to have active armed conflicts and that dwindling donor funding has made it difficult to support new arrivals.

Uganda’s Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hilary Onek, said he has instructed officials not to issue refugee status to citizens from those countries, even as Uganda continues to receive hundreds of refugees daily from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, where fighting is ongoing.

“There is no war happening in Eritrea, Ethiopia or Somalia, so we are not granting refugee status to people from those countries,” Onek said. He added that the decision will not affect those who were previously granted refugee status, but new applicants from those countries will no longer be processed.

Uganda, which currently hosts nearly two million refugees, the largest number in Africa and third largest globally, has seen a rise in daily arrivals from active conflict zones in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan. Kampala says it is struggling to sustain its open-door policy as international support falls.

Uganda’s refugee system, recognized internationally as a progressive model under the Self-Reliance Strategy and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, allows refugees to work, move freely and access public services such as education and health care. However, funding has dropped from $240 million last year to less than $100 million, with only $18 million received in 2025 to support nearly two million refugees, according to Ugandan officials and UNHCR estimates.

The minister said Uganda spends more than 2 billion shillings annually supporting refugees. With funding cuts, basic services such as food assistance, schooling and health care are increasingly strained. UNHCR recently warned that emergency services could be cut further, affecting shelter, food distribution and protection programs, especially for vulnerable groups like children, survivors of gender-based violence and unaccompanied minors.

“This situation is dire, and it is our people who shoulder those costs, which the UNHCR used to handle,” Onek said.

Somalis represent an estimated 51,845 refugees in Uganda, about 3.3 percent of the total refugee population. Many settled in Kampala’s Kisenyi neighborhood and in Nakivale settlement, having arrived in successive displacement waves since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, and later following the Islamic Courts Union conflict of 2006 and the 2011–2012 drought.

Uganda has historically maintained close ties with Somalia, including its long-standing role in African Union peacekeeping missions, where Ugandan troops have been central to fighting al-Shabaab insurgents. This diplomatic and military cooperation, along with Uganda’s flexible asylum practices, helped make Uganda a preferred destination for some Somali asylum seekers seeking documentation, mobility and economic opportunities.

Onek noted that Uganda is holding talks with governments in conflict-affected countries, urging them to pursue political agreements that would allow refugees to return home voluntarily.