Government, UNHCR Launch Nationwide Refugee Verification Exercise

What the report says

The government of Uganda and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, have started a nationwide verification exercise aimed at establishing a more accurate count of refugees in the country. According to Nile Post, the effort began on Monday, September 7, 2026, at Nakivale Refugee Settlement in western Uganda and is intended to extend to all settlements across the country.

Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Refugees Sam Engola announced the exercise during a fact-finding mission in the West Nile region. Acting Commissioner for Refugees Tony Ameny said the purpose is to produce “clean and verifiable data” on the refugee population. Uganda is currently described as hosting about 2.3 million refugees, though officials said the total changes as people arrive and others return home voluntarily.

The verification comes as officials say support for both refugees and host communities is under increasing pressure because of limited resources. During the West Nile visit, Engola and Office of the Prime Minister Permanent Secretary Alex Kakooza met local authorities and visited refugee-related offices and settlements in areas including Arua, Adjumani and Terego. Kakooza said the mission was meant to identify challenges on the ground and improve government responses.

Local officials also raised concerns about possible misuse of the system, including claims that some Ugandan nationals may have registered as refugees to access aid. In a broader context, refugee verification exercises are often used to update humanitarian planning and distribution, but Nile Post reported this one is specifically meant to support better targeting of assistance and services based on verified figures.