The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a generous contribution of DKK 15 million (approximately USD 2.3 million) from the Government of Denmark to provide vital food assistance to nearly 80,000 newly arrived refugees in Uganda. The funding will be used to deliver cash transfers over three months, enabling families to purchase food, meet their immediate needs, and begin rebuilding their lives.
“We are deeply grateful to the Government of Denmark for their steadfast support,” said Lauren Landis, WFP Country Director in Uganda. “This funding will allow us to provide life-saving assistance to new arrivals who are in acute need. Cash transfers are essential in our response, enabling refugees to purchase food while also stimulating the local economy.”
Recent findings from the WFP Uganda 2025 Food Security and Nutrition Assessment, conducted in July 2025, reveal worsening food insecurity and rising acute malnutrition compared to the previous year. Many families are skipping meals, and children are leaving school as conditions deteriorate rapidly, posing serious threats to social cohesion and regional stability in refugee-hosting communities.
“Denmark is committed to supporting refugees hosted in Uganda, who have shown remarkable resilience in the face of adversity,” stated Signe Winding Albjerg, Ambassador of Denmark to Uganda. “By providing cash transfers, we empower refugees to make their own choices and support local markets and production, fostering dignity, self-reliance, and long-term sustainability.”
Under this initiative, WFP will distribute assistance via mobile money to ensure efficient, transparent, and secure delivery. This approach not only helps refugees meet their immediate food needs but also strengthens their integration into local communities and contributes to economic stability in host areas.
Uganda currently hosts Africa’s largest refugee population—around 1.9 million people as of July 2025—mostly fleeing conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The refugee population has quadrupled since 2015, with more than 130,000 new arrivals in 2025 alone. The crisis worsened earlier this year when severe funding shortages forced WFP to suspend aid to one million refugees.
With humanitarian needs growing and resources stretched to the limit, WFP estimates it will require USD 75 million to sustain refugee food assistance in Uganda through 2026. Denmark’s timely contribution will help fill a critical gap and ensure the most vulnerable refugees continue to receive life-saving support.
