Uganda hosts around two million refugees, making it Africa’s largest refugee host and placing growing pressure on local systems in refugee-hosting districts.
This report explores how intermediary organizations can support a response that is both refugee-serving and refugee-led. It maps local, regional, and international intermediaries and the approaches they use to devolve resources and decision making to local levels. It also synthesizes the findings from three convenings in which local, international, and UN actors assessed which functions each set of actors is best placed to lead, now and over time. Participants in these convenings agreed that many functions remain with international actors because of historical donor trust rather than lack of local capability.
The report identifies the barriers that keep refugee-led and Ugandan organizations from accessing direct funding. It also sets out recommendations for donors, UN agencies, and INGOs on building a stronger local intermediary ecosystem. This study is part of The Share Trust’s series of work on intermediary models for locally led action.
