Message from the Director - January 2008
While new and escalating crises generally garner widespread attention, communities recovering from disasters also require strategic assistance to prevent further loss of life or livelihoods, alleviate suffering, and introduce longer-term sustainable development projects. As the lead office within USAID for providing humanitarian assistance in response to international disasters, OFDA is actively engaged in the transition from emergency relief programs to longer-term development programming. Currently, OFDA is working closely with USAID offices devoted to conflict mitigation, transition initiatives, and long-term development to create an integrated USAID strategy for the successful recovery of conflict-affected communities in northern Uganda.
For over a decade, OFDA-funded projects have assisted the estimated 1.8 million people displaced at the height of conflict in northern Uganda. Following improvements in overall security, approximately 840,000 people remain in temporary settlement camps, while others are moving closer to their areas of origin or returning home. Working within our mandate to save lives, alleviate suffering, and reduce the social and economic impact of disasters, OFDA is supporting the returns process and assisting conflict-affected Ugandans to reestablish their lives in home communities. An OFDA delegation to Gulu and Kampala in September met with USAID, U.N., and local officials to assess the intersection of planned relief, recovery, and development efforts.
In FY 2007, OFDA provided more than $12.7 million in emergency assistance to Uganda, prioritizing projects that encourage sustainable returns. OFDA-supported initiatives include increasing the amount of arable land to improve food security, rehabilitating water points in areas of return, repairing roads to provide access to markets and support local economies, and funding radio programs that provide returnees with information on local conditions and services. OFDA also jointly funds a USAID office in Gulu which is designed to coordinate all USAID efforts in the region including transition.
Early planning and collaboration are critical to leverage both humanitarian and development programs for the successful recovery of post-conflict countries. By working to address the most basic needs of the conflict-affected population in northern Uganda, OFDA agriculture and food security, livelihood, and water, sanitation, and hygiene activities are supporting the dignified, sustainable return of displaced populations, while other actors lay the foundation for broader development programs.
Sincerely,
Ky Luu
Director
Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
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