Japan gives Sh1.2 billion for DRC refugees in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. The government of Japan announced a $500,000 emergence grant to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Tanzania in response to the influx of asylum seekers from the DR Congo.

According to the UNHCR, Tanzania is home to nearly 250,522 refugees as of August 2023, mainly from Burundi and DR Congo, with the majority residing in the Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps in the Kigoma Region.

The UN agency is currently facing threats such as underfunding and the influx of new refugees on a daily basis, specifically from the DRC.

Speaking during the handover ceremony at the Japanese ambassador’s residence, the UNHCR representative in Tanzania, Ms Mahoua Parums, said only 32 percent of the $115.9 million required to respond to the urgent needs of refugees and asylum seekers in Tanzania has been received.

“This year in March, we witnessed one of the highest numbers of asylum seekers from the DRC entering Tanzania in groups of 300–600. Women, girls, boys, and men were forced from their homes in the eastern DRC to seek safety in Tanzania,” she said.

Ms Parums said the grants from Japan will enable UNHCR to continue providing physical protection and essential items for Congolese new arrivals to live dignified lives in displacement.

“With financial support from the government of Japan, UNHCR has constructed more than 1,300 emergency family shelters, provided over 12,000 new arrivals with vital items such as sleeping mats, soap, and mosquito nets at reception and transit centres, and built 10 new water collection points in the camps, among other life-saving activities,” she stated.

The ambassador of Japan, Mr Yasushi Misawa, said his country has been extending humanitarian assistance to the refugee operation, and over the past eight years, the Japanese government has provided various assistance to refugees, totaling more than $11 million.

He said due to the global headwinds, the need for humanitarian assistance has expanded dramatically, and so have the needs of humanitarian organisations such as UNHCR and refugee-hosting countries, including Tanzania.

“Given the scale of the overall crisis, the assistance provided by the government of Japan is very limited. However, as a responsible member of the international community, we would like to continue to provide steady and continuous assistance to the full extent,” he said.

The ambassador commended the administration of President Samia Suluhu Hassan for its efforts to support refugees and called for the country to continue its open-door policy to receive and host refugees in accordance with international humanitarian law and provide them with the necessary care and protection they require.