Plagued by violence, political instability and famine, the exodus of South Sudanese refugees into neighbouring countries continues at an alarming rate. At the end of May 2017, more than 880,000 South Sudanese had been forced to flee to Northern Uganda, making Uganda the third-ranked refugee-hosting country in the world.

Within the framework of the Refugee Coordination Model, the Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector (RETS) was mobilised in Northern Uganda in November 2016 to provide critical communications services for the humanitarian community responding to the needs of South Sudanese forced to flee.

As a refugee situation, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is leading response efforts in Northern Uganda. While the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) has not been activated, members of the cluster support the UNHCR-led response when and where required.

RETS Response

RETS is providing shared Wi-Fi internet to the wider humanitarian community in Bidibidi, Imvepi, Palabek, Palorinya and Rhino. Services are accessible via voucher. Humanitarian users can request internet access vouchers are your nearest UNHCR office in Uganda, or contact Uganda.RETS@unhcr.org.

The UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) continues to monitor the Security Communications radio network for humanitarians across Northern Uganda, operating 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Coordinated & led by: