East Africas Protracted Refugee Crisis A Humanitarian System On The Brink
A Growing Crisis of Protracted Displacement: The Plight of Refugees in East Africa
EAST AFRICA — A combination of ongoing conflicts, climate crises, and a severe funding shortfall for humanitarian aid is exacerbating the challenges faced by millions of refugees and asylum seekers in East Africa. The region, which hosts a significant portion of the global refugee population, is struggling to provide for those in need, leading to a humanitarian situation that is becoming increasingly precarious.
According to a report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as of late 2024 and mid-2025, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya are among the top refugee-hosting countries in the world. Uganda alone hosts an estimated 1.9 million refugees, with millions more residing in Ethiopia and Kenya. The sheer scale of displacement has led to what aid organizations call “protracted refugee situations,” where individuals are displaced for years, often decades, with little hope for a durable solution.
The primary challenges for refugees in the region are multifaceted. The first is a profound lack of basic resources. A December 2023 press release from Oxfam highlighted that despite hosting millions, many of these countries are among the world’s least developed. This strains their capacity to provide adequate support for both refugees and host communities. In Uganda, for example, a recent news report from Oxfam detailed how dwindling funds have led to sharp cuts in food assistance, forcing refugees to resort to “dangerous coping mechanisms” such as child marriage and removing children from school.
A second major issue is the lack of economic opportunity and integration. Historically, countries like Kenya have maintained a strict “encampment” policy, which restricts refugees’ freedom of movement and their ability to seek employment outside of designated camps like Dadaab and Kakuma. While Kenya’s Refugee Act of 2021 and the subsequent “Shirika plan” have aimed to promote greater integration, a May 2025 news piece from HIAS, an international refugee aid organization, notes that significant institutional barriers remain. This has left many refugees in a state of indefinite limbo, unable to build a sustainable future.
Crucially, in 2025, both Kenya and Uganda have implemented new, restrictive measures that directly impact asylum seekers from the region like Ethiopia and Eritrea. A July 2025 report by the European External Policy Advisors (EEPA) notes that Kenya has suspended the registration of Eritreans as refugees. This follows Uganda’s temporary suspension of registration for Eritrean asylum seekers in January 2025 and an earlier suspension for Somalis in March 2023, as detailed in a February 2025 Landinfo report on Uganda’s asylum policies.
These suspensions have a severe negative impact on human rights. Without official registration, asylum seekers are left in a legal void, unable to access essential services or protection. A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on a similar policy in Greece explains that suspending the right to seek asylum puts lives at risk and violates international and EU law. Unregistered individuals are susceptible to police harassment, exploitation, and even forced return to the very countries from which they fled, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning refugees to a place where their life or freedom is threatened.
The third challenge is the growing pressure on host countries to manage these large populations with insufficient international support. An ACNUR report from April 2023 on the region’s operations noted that many asylum procedures are hampered by high costs and slow decision-making, with a backlog of over 200,000 individual asylum applications pending. This logistical strain, coupled with the financial burden, has led to palpable frustration from host governments, as noted by Oxfam. These governments are questioning the sustainability of their open-door policies unless there is a significant increase in international funding.
Organizations like the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and GiveDirectly are exploring new approaches, such as providing education and direct cash transfers to help refugees achieve self-reliance. For instance, GiveDirectly‘s cash transfer programs in Uganda and Kenya have shown positive outcomes, with recipients reporting increased income and assets. However, these initiatives, while effective, are currently unable to meet the overwhelming needs of the entire displaced population.
As the number of displaced individuals continues to grow due to crises in countries like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the humanitarian community and international donors face a critical inflection point. Without a more robust, predictable, and equitable sharing of responsibility, the protracted crisis in East Africa threatens to spiral further, putting millions of vulnerable lives at risk.
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