The Japanese government on Monday granted $270,000 to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to cater for Burundian refugees in Rwanda, according to communiqué issued on Monday.
The funding aims, among other objectives, at strengthening the UNHCR’s response to child protection, law enforcement and health related needs of Burundian refugees in Mahama camps located in southeastern Rwanda.
Mahama refugee camp settled in 2015 currently hosts around 60,000 Burundian refugees, according to the UNHCR.
“Thanks to the solidarity from the Japanese people, it is normal that primordial assistance is taken to those people so that they can find back normal life,” said Ahmed Baba Fall, UNHCR country representative to Rwanda.
Estimates by UNHCR describe Mahama as being the youngest and the biggest refugee camp in Rwanda despite its small size and densely populated territory.
Report by UNHCR indicate that the chronic underfunding for the Burundi refugee situation has severely hampered reception capacities and the quality of protection rendered by host countries.
CU/as/APA