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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU
ARUA: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2026
A USD 1.3m project aimed at redressing the impact of forced cross-border displacement has begun in Arua City under the auspices of the City’s Alliance with technical assistance from Italian Development Agency, ACAV.
The project in next couple of months will focus on providing remedies to service disruption in livelihoods, the health sector, business and governance.
Known as the Sustainable Urban Integration of Displacement Affected Communities (SUIDAC) Denis Asiku, the project focal person said the project will provide access to quality education, health and urban farming services through infrastructure development.
These include, Construction of one storied block with eight classrooms, Construction of 2 blocks of 4 classrooms in 2 schools and construction 3 blocks of 5 stance VIP Latrines in the 3 schools receiving classrooms.
There also will be remodeling of a classroom into a science laboratory and equipping the laboratory, organize and support schools with sports materials to promote talent development, inclusion and peaceful coexistence among learners in schools and provision assistive devices for learners with special needs like wheel chairs, elbow clutches, walking frames, tri cycles, white can, hearing aid batteries.
Additionally, SUIDAC will procure sports equipment and training of coaches to develop Paralympic sports disciplines among PWDs such as supply of goal ball and showdown equipment for visually impaired athletes, supply shot put, javelin, discus, and sitting volleyball gear, football equipment, training coaches to teach adaptive techniques.
A total of 553 school management and governance bodies of local schools and technical institutes from 70 primary schools and 9 secondary schools will have their capacities build, among them 100 refugees and 453 host community members.
The project will organise capacity building training for 484 primary school teachers and educators as well as 60 secondary school teachers in early grade learning, accelerated education for primary, integrating ICT into teaching and learning for both secondary and primary school teachers.
Asiku made the disclosure during a town hall meeting with project implementing staff, media and civil society at the Heritage Courts hotel on Tuesday.
He said in the health sector, SUIDAC will construct one general ward in a HC IV using a standard design from Ministry of Health (MoH), Equipping the basic health care infrastructure of the General Ward and organise one capacity building training targeting 50 members of health governance structure in the 13 health centres will be organized to strengthen integrated urban health service planning and access.
Additional activities in the health sector will include two capacity building trainings to strengthen community-based and integrated mental health and psycho-social support services for 100 VHTs each and organization of eight integrated health awareness campaigns on health challenges affecting displacement affected communities (DACs) covering 6,000 persons.
Arua City will train 74 healthcare workers in integrated mental health and psycho-social support services, expanding services at community health centres, and reaching out to underserved groups like refugees.
An expected improvement of work conditions for the urban poor would also see construction of 1 Satellite Market shades and stalls (this includes 40 pitches each at least 10 for DACs, 15 Women, 5 PWDs); Construction of one 5 stance VIP latrine at the new satellite market shades and organizing of capacity building training for 10 Trade Associations and Market Vendors, Crafts Makers, Honey Dealers, Juice, Hotel Owners, Boda Boda Association, Property Owners, Business Community, Community Groups and support for vocational education and skills training for vulnerable and disadvantaged youth.
Moses Acole, the Program Manger for ACAv that is providing technical support said both host community and refugees would benefit equally from the SUIDAC project.
To enhance nutrition through urban farming, SUIDAC aims to train 150 groups on resilient urban farming, extension service will be provided by Arua City, follow-ups and technical backstopping will be offered by Arua City production department.
There will be supply of urban smart agricultural inputs, for 150 farming groups, setting of one demonstration site in the affected DAC settlement (crop and animal).
Patrick Bongo, the City’s Alliance head of programs in Arua City commented that SUIDAC was supplementing government programs and thanked the government for the enabling polices that allowed seamless hosting of refugees, the springboard for the formulation of the SUIDAC project.
The leaders called on the media to play constructive role in promoting the SUIDAC project in order to assure success.
Geoffrey Mugomba, the town clerk for Ayivu division commended the organisers of the event saying that the town hall meeting was timely as the City administration moves to integrate the over 23,000 urban refugees, most of whom are form South Sudan and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo into the City’s development agenda.
