17.
plans to contribute significantly to both programs. The outlook for an early solution to Somalia's refugee problem, complicated by the ever-increasing numbers and a limited infrastructure, is not good.
Sudan: Sudan is host to nearly 500,000 refugees, more than 350,000 of them Eritreans who have fled the civil war in Ethiopia and are now living in cities and the rural regions north and west of the Ethiopian border. More than 100,000 Ugandans, including about 60,000 who left after Idi Amnin' s overthrow in 1979 and another 50,000 who crossed more recently during electoral and other disturbances in Uganda, are living in the southern Sudan. Sudan traditionally has hadone of the most liberal asylum policies in the world, and in mid-1980 the country offered the refugees permanent resettlement. In June 1980, the Sudanese Government held an international conference on refugees in Khartoum during which it announced plans for a $240 million program to resettle the refugees in areas where they can become self-sufficient. Contributions to this program have been minimal. Most US refugee aid to Sudan is channeled through contributions to the general program budgets of the UNHCR and the WFP. In response to the conference request, an additional $3 million will be granted to Sudan to construct a refugee water supply system in Port Sudan.
Zaire: During late 1980, many residents of Uganda's West Nile region, f leeing the continuing disturbances there, joined the 54,000 Ugandan refugees who came to northeastern Zaire when Amnin was overthrown. A recent US Government study team estimated a total of 80,000-100,000 Ugandans in northeastern Zaire; it also found that the refugees frequently moved back and forth across the border to acquire food and to escape military or rebel harassment. Although the refugees present nutritional status is good, assistance will be required in a few months when the current harvest runs out. In cooperation with a Belgian rural development association, the UNHCR is planning a regular program of relief and resettlement for refugees wishing to remain in northeastern Zaire. Similar programs are envisioned for the Ugandans in Sudan and for refugees returning to Uganda's West Nile region. Zaire also is host to about 400,000 other refugees, mostly from Angola. Most US assistance to refugees in Zaire is transmitted through the UNHOR. The US has authorized UNHCR to use part of its African general program contribution to help begin an immediate relief effort in northeastern Zaire.
Cameroon: Following the outbreak of fighting in Ndjamena, Chad, in. March 1980, much of the city's population fled into northern Cameroon. Some 80,000 Chadian refugees in the area around Kousseri, Cameroon, still need assistance. In the first weeks after the refugee influx, the European Community (EC), France, and the US provided immediate bilateral aid. The US diverted 6,300 metric tons of food destined for Chad to feed refugees in Cameroon. In early June 1980, the UNHCR issued a $7.6 million appeal, to which the US contributed $1.7 million. An additional $1.3 million was applied to the UNHCR Cameroon
program from the US Government's regular contribution for the UNHCR's Africa program. other donors, including the EC, fully subscribed the appeal. Recently, the US contributed another 6,000 metric tons of food, to be delivered before the end of May 1981.