The organization announced this on Monday. According to the government, 28 people have died from Ebola in Uganda. Ebola is transmitted through direct physical contact and often causes a high fever and internal bleeding.
There is also a lack of money for urgently needed aid in other countries, according to the UNHCR. In the Central African state of Chad, for example, the water supply in the camps was interrupted due to lack of fuel. In Lebanon, 70,000 extremely vulnerable refugee families no longer received help from UNHCR.
The refugee agency estimated the missing funds to be at least $700 million by the end of the year. Many aid organizations are already having to cut back on key programs to make do with scarce resources. The UNHCR is primarily funded by donations from governments, private companies, foundations and individuals.
UNHCR Director Dominique Hyde said: “This is a real, immediate emergency call where people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake.” Due to the coincidence of war and violence, the need is increasing. The danger is that further budget cuts could force families to make irreversible decisions, such as taking on excessive debt, marrying daughters too early, or sending children to work instead of school. Despair can also lead families to embark on dangerous journeys.
(SDA)