UNHCR and partners are not promoting return to Burundi, but are working with the governments involved to ensure that returns are based on the principles of voluntariness and informed decisions, and take place in safety and dignity. 58,546 Burundian refugees were assisted to return in 2017 and 2018 .

URGENT FUNDING NEEDED TO COVER VECTOR CONTROL CAMPAIGNS IN WHITE NILE CAMPS – The State Ministry of Health conducted vector control campaigns in all camps, through support from WHO. Vector control campaigns are an essential component of disease prevention programmes in refugee camps. Funds are urgently needed to cover vector control and water quality activities through to the end of 2019.

OVER 3,000 REFUGEES ARRIVED IN SUDAN IN FEBRUARY – New refugee arrivals from South Sudan continue to cross into Sudan. Over 6,200 refugees have arrived in Sudan in 2019 so far, arriving from Aweil area in Northern Bahr Ghazal State and Upper Nile State, citing violence, food insecurity and a lack of livelihoods as their reasons for leaving South Sudan.

Approximately 80 per cent of the refugee population are comprised of women and children and more than 50,000 refugee children remain unaccompanied or separated. Within South Sudan, 85 per cent of the 1.97 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women and children.

To foster economic self-reliance for refugees and host communities, Regional Refugee Response Plan partners will work toward strengthening resilience across the region, emphasizing economic inclusion and utilising cash-based interventions wherever feasible.

While more than 58,000 refugees have returned to Burundi since mid-2017, hundreds of refugees still flee Burundi each month, and UNHCR urges governments in the region to maintain open borders and access to asylum for those who need it.

Education is a major priority in the Uganda refugee response for 2019 and beyond. More than half of refugee children, and over one third of Ugandan children in refugee hosting areas, are out of school.

IGAD Ministers commit further to improving livelihoods of refugees

Since the start of the voluntary repatriation exercise in September 2017, a total of 63,143 individuals have been assisted to return to Burundi from Tanzania as of 31 March 2019. Of those who have registered for return, 7,760 individuals are currently awaiting departure after having had their intention to voluntarily return verified.

Due to continued new arrivals from Burundi into Rwanda, albeit in small numbers, additional space is needed to ensure a camp extension in Mahama Camp. The camp is designed for 60,000 refugees and the camp population has reached 59,319 as of 28 February 2019.