Minister Hussen wraps up trip to Uganda and Tanzania

August 8, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, has completed a successful week‑long visit to Tanzania and Uganda, 2 important partner countries in Eastern Africa. Minister Hussen met with officials and stakeholders to discuss global migration trends and the challenges faced by these countries.

In Uganda, Minister Hussen recognized the country’s efforts to host a significant population of refugees. He underscored Canada’s interest in supporting refugees and other vulnerable populations by announcing additional funding from Canada.

The Minister announced a grant of $175,000 from Canada’s Migration Policy Development Program to deploy 3 sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) experts (1 each in Uganda, Ethiopia and Costa Rica). These experts will provide protection and support to refugees, particularly women and girls who are survivors of SGBV.

Operating under a partnership between the International Catholic Migration Commission and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the SGBV experts will support a range of activities, including identifying and referring vulnerable refugee women and girls for resettlement to Canada and other countries.

The Minister also announced a grant of $99,000 to support the creation of Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathway Project. In partnership with Talent Beyond Boundaries, RefugePoint and the UNHCR, this pilot project examines whether skilled refugees in Kenya and the Middle East can access Canada’s economic immigration programs. This is an important initiative to understand what barriers may exist to prevent vulnerable populations from accessing durable solutions and economic self-sufficiency in Canada.

Finally, on behalf of the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development, Minister Hussen announced that Canada provided an additional $320,000 to provide food assistance for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. With this funding, 2,000 pregnant and lactating mothers, in addition to 500 people with specific needs for specialized supplementary food, will have access to appropriate food for another 9 months. This is in addition to previous support provided since December 2016 through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.