Home
  English
  Arabic
  Russian
  Chinese
Help the victims of war: make a donation to the ICRC today!
Section
The ICRC in Uganda
©ICRC/ug-e-00219
Kitgum district, Mucwini camp. Distribution of agricultural tools, seeds and essential items to internally displaced people.

The ICRC has been active in Uganda since 1979. In response to escalating needs, it resumed its field activities in 2004 following a three year suspension after six of its employees were killed in the Ituri district in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ICRC is currently present in Gulu, Pader and Kitgum districts in northern Uganda where the armed conflict has caused the internal displacement of around 1.7 million people. The organization is active in 64 camps for the internally displaced, carrying out activities on behalf of nearly 800,000 internally displaced persons.

Operations include the training of medical and health personnel in hospitals and health centres, the provision of medicines, surgical and medical equipment, the maintenance and rehabilitation of essential infrastructure for water supply and sanitation facilities and the distribution of essential non-food items, vegetable seeds and agricultural tools.

The ICRC also visits detainees falling within its mandate and strives to raise awareness of IHL and humanitarian principles among the armed and police forces.

The ICRC carries out its activities in Uganda in close cooperation with the Uganda Red Cross Society.


Presence (2008): 262 staff, including 32 expatriates

Key document
    8-5-2008
    Uganda: an HIV-clouded pregnancy – and yet, a smile
    Margret Achieng is HIV-positive and about to deliver. But, thanks to a new programme put in place with the support of the ICRC, her baby should not be infected. Iolanda Jaquemet reports from Northern Uganda.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Feature Includes Photo

    8-5-2008
    Uganda: ICRC activities January to March 2008
    The ICRC is active in various regions of Uganda, working with national, regional and local authorities, as well as the Uganda Red Cross Society, helping internally displaced persons, reuniting families, improving living conditions and promoting international humanitarian law.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Operational update

    1-10-2007
    Uganda: promoting community health in Gulu
    Labworomor health centre in Gulu district has made a remarkable difference in the lives of thousands of local residents and internally displaced people. However, the small four-roomed building that houses the clinic has not been spared by the 20-year conflict that has ravaged northern Uganda. Journalist Denis Ocwich reports on the ICRC's comprehensive effort to rehabilitate 13 dilapidated health centres in the region.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Feature Includes Photo

Feature
    28-9-2007
    Uganda: water and sanitation project restores hope in IDP camps
    With a population of 46,000, Pabbo is the largest internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in the Gulu district, filled with rural folk who fled the countryside in the early 1990s due to armed conflict. Ugandan journalist Denis Ocwich reports on an ICRC water and sanitation project that has given rise to new hope by improving health in the camps.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Feature Includes Photo

    31-8-2007
    Relief for the displaced of rural Uganda
    The ICRC is continuing to deliver seeds and essential assistance items to hundreds of thousands of people uprooted by conflict in northern Uganda. Ugandan journalist Denis Ocwich reports on a delivery of supplies to a remote camp for displaced persons.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Feature Includes Photo

    27-2-2007
    Uganda: a lesson in courage given by women
    In northern Uganda, almost 1.5 million people, most of whom are Acholis, have had to abandon their villages and their fields and seek refuge in camps for internally displaced persons. Some of them have been living in these camps for ten years. They have tried to recreate a community there. But it has been difficult.
    (Focus\Women and war)
    Feature Includes Photo

Field newsletter
    22-2-2008
    Uganda: 2008 health activities in northern districts
    Details of the ICRC's programmes, focussing on water and sanitation and other aspects of community care, in areas that have been affected by the conflict.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Field newsletter Includes PDF

ICRC film
    30-4-2005
    Forgotten victims: ICRC in Northern Uganda
    We meet the children who have taken shelter in camps for the displaced in Northern Uganda, fleeing attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Kenneth and his friends tell of their daily struggle for survival. The film shows how the ICRC works in the camps alongside the Uganda Red Cross Society to help people who have been displaced by conflict.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\From the field)
    ICRC film Includes Video

Operational update
    24-1-2008
    Uganda: ICRC activities July to September 2007
    The ICRC, working with the Uganda Red Cross Society, remains active in northern Uganda, helping internally displaced persons, trying to put dispersed families back in touch and promoting international humanitarian law. The ICRC also visits detainees in Uganda.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Operational update

    31-8-2007
    Uganda: ICRC activities April to June 2007
    The ICRC, with the cooperation of the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), is continuing its humanitarian assistance programme in Uganda, supporting internally displaced persons (IDPs)(see also feature), visiting detainees, and promoting international humanitarian law (IHL) to the armed and police forces, and universities.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Operational update Includes Photo

    18-5-2007
    Uganda: unable to cope alone, survivors of a long conflict still need help
    The long conflict in northern Uganda has driven an estimated 1.7 million people away from their homes. They are now either still living in camps, in the process of returning home or resettling after years of displacement. Report on ICRC activities, January to March 2007.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Operational update

    31-12-2006
    Uganda: ICRC activities October to December 2006
    The ICRC, with the cooperation of the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), is continuing its humanitarian assistance programme in Uganda, supporting internally displaced persons (IDPs), visiting detainees, and promoting international humanitarian law (IHL) to the armed and police forces, and universities.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Operational update

    30-9-2006
    Uganda: ICRC activities July to September 2006
    The ICRC in Uganda focuses on supporting those displaced by conflict, visiting places of detention, promoting respect for international humanitarian law and strengthening the capacities of the Uganda Red Cross Society. An update of activities from July to September 2006.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Operational update Includes Photo

Photo Collection
    30-3-2007
    Uganda: improving the lives of over half a million displaced people
    It is estimated that the decade-long conflict in Uganda has forced over 1.7 million people from their homes into camps for the displaced. In February-March 2007, the ICRC distributed substantial aid to some 560,000 displaced people currently living in camps, returning to their homes or resettling after years of displacement.
    (Info resources\Photos\Africa)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    17-2-2006
    Uganda: twenty years of conflict
    After two decades of fighting between the Ugandan authorities and the Lords Resistance Army there remains little sign of a peaceful solution. In response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the ICRC resumed its field activities in 2004, suspended three years earlier after the killing of six staff members in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
    (Info resources\Photos\Africa)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

Video Collection
    1-8-2006
    IHL training for the Ugandan military and police
    In 2006, the ICRC produced an 11-minute video about the integration of the basic principles of international humanitarian law into the doctrine, training and operations of the Uganda police and defence forces.
    (Info resources\Video)
    Video Collection Includes Video

Other site


go to top of page
Home | Site map | Search | What's new | Contacts | Copyright | Privacy policy  | RSS
© 2008  International Committee of the Red Cross
9-05-2008