Nakivale Refugee Settlement

The protection sector in Nakivale refugee settlement is involved in strengthening protection from crime and reducing or eliminating arbitrary detention, prevention and response to Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) as well as provision of child protection services to unaccompanied minors/separated children and children at risk. Support is given for durable solutions through individual protection case identification for resettlement and voluntary repatriation activities including information campaigns, "Go See and Come Tell visits" and escorting returning convoys. Nakivale receives an average of 2,000 new asylum seekers in its reception centre every month who await decisions on their refugee status by the Ugandan government Refugee Eligibility Committee which visits the settlement every 3 months.[4][6]

This support includes distribution of non-food items, construction of shelters to persons with specific needs (PSNs) and psychosocial support to vulnerable refugees. Vulnerable groups supported by this sector include the elderly, people with disabilities, single parents, unaccompanied/separated children, as well as other men, elderly persons, women at risk, persons with medical conditions, children at risk and more generally women and children in the settlement. It is also involved in the capacity building of refugee leaders, and mobilising of communities for community works such as building PSN houses, classrooms, water point maintenance and community roads. The sector is also responsible for mobilization for other sector activities including health and WASH and the community mobilization and sensitisation for the celebration of international days such as International Women’s Day, World Refugee Day and 16 days of activism.[6]

By December 2014, there were 9 primary schools and 27 Early Childhood Development Centres in Nakivale along with 1 secondary school and 1 vocational school. Windle Trust Uganda (WTU) also implements the German-funded DAFI scholarship programme which supports tertiary education. Children requiring special needs education are supported in 2 schools outside the refugee settlement. The Vocational Training Centre (VTC) provides skills training for asylum seekers, refugees and Ugandan nationals to give them the skills necessary for informal employment opportunities and small scale entrepreneurship. Nakivale also hosts a Community Technology Access (CTA) Centre which consists of a training area where students enroll and are trained in basic computer courses and an internet café. Finnish Refugee Council (FRC) provides training in Adult Literacy, English for Adults and related life skills through 36 learning centres across the settlement.[6]

Health services provided include Out-Patient Department services, community outreach activities such as immunization, sensitization and mobilization for antenatal care (ANC) and systems strengthening. There are 4 health centres in Nakivale (one grade III and three grade II H/Cs). Main referral point is Mbarara RRH and Rwekubo H/C IV. MTI intervenes and also supports awareness messages on HIV/AIDS, other communicable diseases, health promotion campaigns, and capacity building of Community Health Workers. As a result there has been an improvement in ANC attendances, maternal child health and family planning response. All indicators in morbidity and mortality are also within standard. Most common diseases within the settlement are Malaria and Respiratory Tract Infections. The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) for Nakivale in 2013 was 2.9% (with critical being more than 15%) and Severe Acute Malnutrition rate was negligible (critical = 5%).[6]

There is an estimated population of over 35,000 nationals surrounding the Refugee Settlement who directly benefit from water, education, health and nutrition programmes in the settlement.[4] UNHCR and the government of Uganda fund and monitor the implementation of sub-projects activities and interfaces with implementing partners involved in providing social service like Windle International Uganda for education.[8] The settlement hosts communities from Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

Refugees in Nakivale settlement receive both underground water (through boreholes and shallow wells) and surface water pumped from Lake Nakivale and treated at one of 3 water plants in the settlement (Base camp, Misiera and Kabazaana). There are 50 hand pumps and 318 water taps in the settlement. Water trucking (in schools and health centres) is also used during the dry season and rain water harvesting during the wet season. The sanitation sector is involved in hygiene promotion in communities and institutions. Latrine coverage in 2013 was 87%.[6]

The main livelihood activities include food crop production (including mushroom growing inside houses), crop post-harvest handling (mainly for maize), livestock husbandry, small businesses and vocational skills (tailoring, soap making, bakery and crafts/sandal making), making energy efficient stoves that use less firewood and making charcoal out of household waste. A total of 2,590 energy saving stoves have been constructed in the settlement through community participation. As part of promoting and supporting small holder associations, beneficiary households have also been organized into groups/associations. In order to promote conservation and stop deforestation tree-planting and energy saving technologies have been introduced.[6]

Nakivale is the main settlement for resettlement cases due to its size and the length of stay of many of its refugees. The focus is on individual protection cases and Congolese refugees for durable solutions. Additionally, follow-up and counseling is provided for the Somali refugees whose cases were submitted between 2009 and 2011 and still pending. In 2013, UNHCR referred 999 individuals from Nakivale and 1,763 individuals departed. In 2013, resettlement submissions from Nakivale are expected to continue increasing significantly with a main focus on Congolese refugees.[6]