M7 Meets With FAO Director General Over Refugees’ Welfare

President Yoweri Museveni last week held a meeting with Mr. Jose Graziano da Silva, who is the Director General of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

During the meeting that took place at State House, Entebbe, the President and his guest discussed matters relating to the refugee crisis in the region and how to make Uganda’s effort sustainable to help the refugees.

Museveni called on the Director to not only look at agriculture as a means of sustaining refugees but also consider other services, like craftsmanship, that refugees can engage in to better their lives. He said that handwork, including tailoring, knitting and weaving, does not need a lot of land but only small capital and skill.

“For us, our model allows refugees to move out of the camp and not make it a ghetto. Some Somali refugees are traders and truck drivers. If they have a skill that can allow them to circulate in the labour market in order to sustain themselves, then they can be mobile,” the President said.

The President informed the FAO Director that the Government of Uganda is planning to use the money that was raised by the United Nations Secretary General,  Antonio Guterres, during the Refugees’ Solidarity Conference that took place in Uganda two months ago, to build health centers and schools in the refugee settlements.

Jose Graziano da Silva, in his remarks, revealed to the President that FAO is ready to help refugees in Uganda both financially and technically and also work with other international organizations to help with the refugees’ crisis.

@PPU