{{The U.S. Embassy in Rwanda has announced a $1 million increase in the U.S. government funding allocation to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for refugee protection activities in Rwanda.}}
The funding will be increased from $3.6 million to $4.6 millon and is provided through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).
The additional funding will help UNHCR Rwanda, the Government of Rwanda, and the American Refugee Committee provide the residents of the camp better access to clean food and water; hygiene services; health and nutrition services; services to support survivors of gender-based violence, as well as efforts to prevent this type of violence.
The U.S. government recognizes the signficance of continued support for these services. This assistance comes at a time when Rwanda’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs and UNHCR, among other partners, are working to construct and open a fifth refugee camp in Rwanda’s Southern Province this year. The expectation is that this new camp will alleviate pressure on refugees in heavily populated existing camps such as Kiziba.
During a visit to the Kiziba camp on Tuesday, July 30, U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda, Donald W. Koran, together with UNHCR Country Representative, Ms. Neimah Warsame, and the Governor of the Western Province, Mr. Celestin Kabahizi, heard first-hand about the needs of the refugees living in the camp, some since 1996.
Young girls and boys, together with their parents, high-lighted the pressing need for education as both protection and a counter to delinquency. According to UNHCR Representative Warsame: ”Education is the best strategy to protect refugee children; it plays a central role in prevention of gender-based violence and early pregnancy while it empowers future generations.”
She further thanked Ambassador Koran for the unwavering support the U.S. government provides to the refugee population hosted in Rwanda. “The U.S. government,” stressed Ambassador Koran,”is committed to ensuring that adequate services are provided in all the camps.”
The U.S. government recognizes the tremendous support that the Government of Rwanda gives to UNHCR and the refugee populations it hosts. The Government of Rwanda has worked hard to identify land to host refugee camps.
We understand what the cost that providing this support means for the Government of Rwanda and appreciate its willingness, and that of the Rwandan people, to share the burden with the international community, donors and UNHCR.
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