Uganda Red Cross Society recently deployed the first Red Cross unmanned aerial vehicle – a drone – in Africa to monitor the situation at a vast refugee camp on the border with South Sudan. The drone footage from northern Uganda revealed that a swathe of countryside is becoming home for the hundreds of people crossing the border each day.

On 8 September, the day the drone took to the air, 4,373 new refugees crossed into Uganda, according to the most recent update from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The Bidi- bidi reception Centre in Yumbe district, where many refugees are being initially registered, is 300 kilometres north of Kampala, but is within walking distance of the border with South Sudan, where fighting has erupted. Red Cross volunteers and staff are providing aid and care to the refugees passing through the reception centre.

According to the Red Cross, 57,900 people have passed through the Bidibidi centre – just over a month after it opened. The reception centre is expected to be over its capacity of 100,000 people within the next month.

Nearly 130,000 South Sudanese refugees have arrived since 1 July, bringing the total number in Uganda to nearly 360,000 (Source: UNHCR).

‘A decent life’

On 29 August the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched an emergency appeal for 700,000 US dollars to support the Uganda Red Cross Society’s efforts to assist 40,000 refugees for six months with safe water, sanitation, hygiene promotion, emergency shelter, and health care.

Regional leaders in the Greater Horn of Africa has also raised concern over unending wars that often leads to emergency situations that majorly  affects women and children.

While addressing leaders at a recent world leaders’ summit on Refugees in New York during the ongoing United Nations General Assembly, President Museveni called on world leaders to respect the rights of refugees in their countries.

According to reports, Uganda currently has a refugee population of 690,000 coming from the countries such as Burundi, DR Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda among others. The president predicts the numbers to increase further to 810,000 by the end of this year.

Museveni said that it is wrong to treat African refugees as if they are seeking to consume resources of the indigenous people.

“I tell Ugandans that these (refugees) are our unfortunate brothers and sisters having a misfortune, for the moment, being misgoverned or being unprotected against demonic rebels,” he said.

The Red Cross and other Humanitarian agencies have often raised concern over escalating violence especially in Burundi and South Sudan which they say often causes suffering to the local populations.

“The vast majority of people crossing into Uganda from South Sudan are women and children or people with special needs, such as the elderly and those with complex health issues,” said Andreas Sandin, IFRC operations coordinator for East Africa. “Having travelled more than 400 kilometres from Juba, they arrive exhausted, hungry, and in need of shelter. With more families arriving daily, we need to ramp up our activities quickly.”

Gracious Kyagaba, Water and Sanitation Coordinator at the Uganda Red Cross Society, said: “The appeal launched by the IFRC will support us to address issues related to inadequate supply of water and limited access to health facilities, as well as curb outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases.

“We will also support refugees to set up shelters so that they are able to live as decently as possible.”

Red Cross volunteers are assisting with the registration of new arrivals, who come in on UNHCR buses and then disperse into the surrounding countryside.

Emergency operation

Volunteers are also operating a treatment plant to produce safe drinking-water, and working to raise awareness of hygiene and sanitation – crucial in maintaining good health for the refugees.

The drone used by the society to document its work in Bidibidi was supplied by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre as part of its forecast-based financing programme for large-scale climate-related disasters in Africa supported by the government of Germany and the German Red Cross.

Following its successful first flight, the device may now be deployed from its base in Kampala elsewhere in Africa on forecast-based financing assignments and climate-related emergencies.

The first forecast-based financing response to a disaster was triggered in Uganda last November when Red Cross volunteers distributed 5,000 relief items to flood insecure communities in Kapelebyong after forecasts of rising water-levels reached a predetermined risk threshold.

Uganda
H.E. Mr. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
President
General Assembly Seventy-first session: Opening of the General Debate 71 United Nations, New York

Museveni however, wants world leaders to stop supporting armed conflicts especially on the African continent which result in an influx of refugees arguing that sponsoring such groups by external forces prevents peace building.

“If a conflict is really justified, in order to fight for justice with war being the only means of resistance and national salvation, the people can successfully wage a people’s struggle without external sponsorship,” said Museveni. He added that conflict situations are being propelled by puppets looking for external sponsors and by chauvinists looking for puppets.

He cited what he called sectarian persecution occasioned by the “ideologically bankrupt” groups who rely on undisciplined and criminal armies or militias” as one of the main causes of the refugee problem in Africa.

The president called on refugee hosting countries to ensure that refugees are given the necessary assistance to avoid degrading the environment. He also called on humanitarian organizations to empower refugees through educating the children, imparting skills in order for them to be more advantaged when they return to their countries.

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27people have been already been admitted  in the different health facilities .

According to the assistant director disaster management at the Uganda Red Cross society, Kevin Nabuduwa, the district health officers and Red Cross are doing all it takes to contain te disease

She attributes the out break out to  poor sanitation with many people lacking pit latrines

Nabuduwa however says that  they have started giving out aqua tablets for water purification.

The post Cholera hits Arua district first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

This follows the media reports that put jiggers in the district on the rise in the families more especially among the youth.

Wafula Oguttu

Bukhooli central Member of Parliament who is also the shadow minister for works Wafula Ogutu says that the leaders will be using all the gatherings in the area to sensitize the public on how they can maintain cleanliness in their homes.

He says that people have failed to maintain cleanliness in their homes and they need to be sensitized.

Some of the methods to be used by Ogutu is smearing of the houses using cow dung, cementing houses and constant bathing by an individual.

He however called upon government to also help the area with water supply saying that water supply in the area only covers 40% of the entire area.

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Former His worship the mayor of Kampala, John Sebaana Kizito was born on 12^th September 1934, in Mpande village, Luweero district. He is a Muganda and attended Ndejje SS, Kibuli SS and King’s Colleague Budo for secondary education (1945-55), Makerere University for a B.A Economics (1956-60) and the University of Oregon, USA for an M.Sc. in finance and business economics.

Sebaana Kizito has a certificate in insurance management from Swiss Institute Training Center, according to his political assistant, Walakira Nyanzi, who is also the LC3 councilor Namasuba and Speaker Makindye Sabagabo.

Sebaana’s political experience is as rich and varied as his professional experience. He served as MP for EALA (1967-77), Kampala South MP (1980-1996), Uganda corporate minister for regional cooperation (1986), cooperative and marketing  (1987-88) and housing and urban development minister (1988-91). Sebaana sometime back was also the national treasurer of the Democratic Party (DP) (1998-2005).

Sebaana considers his contribution to the implementation of different projects as his source of personal pride and respect. Sebaana also served as president of Lions club international for three years (1970-72). He served at Makerere University council as a member (1995-2002), and currently he is a member of Buganda Lukiiko and member of Ndejje University council and also member of Muteesa I Royal University council.

Sebaana’s leadership philosophy in the defunct KCCA could be summarized in three principles: sanitation, simplicity and shared responsibility- Simplicity because his desire was to be the peoples mayor, sanitation because he wanted Kampala to be clean and shared responsibility because he wanted the people of Kampala to participate in decision making processes. Sebaana lives in Muyenga, Kampala and he is married and has only six children.

Ultimate Media

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There were tears and shock on Wednesday when the operatives of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) closed Mukwano Soap factory for allegedly failing to comply with laws governing environment.

The KCCA officials told us that Mukwano soap factory had failed to stop the emission of smoke, and sewage into Nakivubo Channel. And that Mukwano soap factory did not have toilets.

The KCCA director, Semakula Musisi says that Mukwano soap factory did not respect advises from KCCA. She says that the council has been advising Mukwano to improve on its sanitation in vain. The operation to close down Mukwano factory was commandeered by  Dr John Lule, the KCCA principal health officer.

The KCCA officials says that before they can reopen Mukwano soap factory, the council wants to first make sure that the soap factory has changed its combustion system from biomass to another appropriate energy source.

Dr. Lule says that Mukwano soap factory did not have a NEMA environmental audit report proving that their emission levels are safe to the public.

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The government of Uganda, represented by the office of the prime minister has received financing from the World Bank towards the cost of the second Northern Uganda Social Action (NUSAF2) project. The permanent secretary of the prime minister’s office Pius Birigimana says that the government intends to apply part of the proceeds for the consultant services for carrying out annual tracking studies under the public works programme (PWP) of NUSAF2 project.

He says that the activities are aimed at assessing how income earned through PWP impacted on the participants’ livelihoods, particularly on education, health, agriculture, water, sanitation, nutrition, and care for vulnerable people.

Pius says that the consultant shall carry out assessment in selected districts of Uganda that will be agreed upon by the prime minister’s office, prepare and submit the report of its findings as its major out put.

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A combination of anti riot police and regular police has shot bullets and tear gas into the groups of government aided students at Kyambogo and Nkumba University.

The students of Nkumba and Kyambogo universities staged strikes on Tuesday morning over allowances and poor sanitation. In the process the police bullets injured over five students of Kyambogo University and the good Samaritans rushed them to Mulago Hospital in critical condition. Also some students suffocated after the policemen reportedly fired tear gas in their rooms.

Business around Nkumba and Kyambogo universities also came to a standstill after the students’ lit fire in the middle of the roads.

The students blocked the roads this time protesting against the increasing police brutality in Kampala. The students also shattered door and window glasses of cars and buildings.

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The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has disconnected Kyambogo University leaving the toilets there to stink.

The students and some of the administrators of Kyambogo University allege that NWSC disconnected the institution of learning over non payment. Now over 20,000 people the university houses are fetching water from nearby wells and dirty water sources.

Now we are told that the university’s sanitation and health services are poor due to the shortage of water at Kyambogo University.

Kyambogo University has been failing to address water problems for over three times. The students at Kyambogo University are planning a violent strike if their university fails to address the water crisis.

Ultimate Media

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The students were demonstrating over poor sanitation in their toilets and internship money. When they went to demand for an explanation why the toilets could not be fixed and why they could not get their internship money the arrogant IT professor could not give them an appropriate explanation.

He was only advising the already charged students to keep quiet so that he talks to them. This prompted the angry students to get stones and canes so that they could discipline him. The IT professor had first refused to address these students and he locked himself in his office until the intervention of prof. Tanga Odoi, the chairperson of Makerere University Academic Staff Association.

The students also demanded for his resignation. The police intervened and the IT professor managed to escape.

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The acting chief whip of NRM, David Bahati says that the one-week retreat is scheduled to start on Thursday January 12th at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi.

The retreat comes at a time when most of the MPs on the NRM ticket are sidelining with the opposition to fight the increasing case of corruption in Uganda government. Bahati says that the retreat will help NRM to tame their members who are sidelining with the opposition to fight the government in power.

The retreat has also come at a time when the country is in a deep financial crisis and hundreds of Ugandans hardly get one meal a day. Some of the voters in Uganda due to poor sanitation, corruption scandals and political unrest in Uganda, want to recall some of the leaders in parliament.

By Moureen Nakyanzi

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