Uganda
Uganda hosts Africa’s largest refugee population and has one of the world’s youngest populations. While the country has made significant progress towards peace, many children still face threats to their education, safety and health due to persistent poverty. War Child works with partners across Uganda to help refugee and host community children recover from conflict and build brighter futures.
The situation for children
Uganda has made important strides towards peace and economic progress since the conflicts that once shaped the country came to an end. However, many children still live with the effects of instability, while social divisions, corruption, and competition over land and natural resources continue to fuel tensions.
As one of the world's largest refugee-hosting countries, Uganda has welcomed people fleeing violence in Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This growing need is placing immense pressure on local services, including education, healthcare, protection and mental health support, and can strain relationships between refugee and host communities.
At the same time, reductions in global humanitarian funding have forced cuts to vital services, particularly in education and protection, making it harder for children and families to access the support they need.
Our work in Uganda
War Child has worked in Uganda since 2017. Together with our partners, we provide children and their families in both host and refugee communities with child protection, education, and mental health and psychosocial support. Most of our activities take place in refugee settlements including Nakivale, Kyaku II, Rhino and Bidibidi - one of the largest refugee camps in the world.
Evidence-based Methodologies used in Uganda
Youth-led advocacy
- Research-grounded
- Youth advocacy
Play and movement-based psychosocial support
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Strengthening parent wellbeing and skills
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Closing the learning gap
- Evidence-based
- Education
Supporting adolescent mental health
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Teacher wellbeing
- Evidence-informed
- Education
Mental health needs detection tool
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Latest news from Uganda
- Mental health and psychosocial support
A community case detection tool to promote help-seeking for mental health care among children and adolescents in Ugandan refugee settlements: a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial
Strategies to promote mental health care help-seeking among children are needed, especially in lowincome and middle-income countries and in complex settings. The aim of this trial was to compare a vignette-based, community-level, proactive case detection tool (CCDT) against standard awareness raising for promoting mental health help-seeking among children and adolescents.
- Child protection
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Providing life-saving protection to Uganda's growing refugee community
Uganda remains Africa’s largest refugee host country, sheltering over 2,000,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of September 2026. As these vulnerable communities continue to grow, the critical services needed to support them are experiencing severe funding shortages.
- Education
Increasing school attendance and retention in refugee settings: Participatory development of the SchoolLinks intervention
This study aimed to develop an intervention to improve consistent school attendance in participation with caregivers, teachers, and other stakeholders, in refugee settings in Uganda.
- Education
- Mental health and psychosocial support
PlayMatters 3.0 expands Learning through Play across East Africa
The International Rescue Committee (IRC), together with consortium partners Plan International and War Child Alliance, and with support from the LEGO Foundation, is launching PlayMatters 3.0, the next phase of a flagship education initiative supporting teachers improve holistic learning and wellbeing through Learning through Play, for pre-primary and primary school children.
- Advocacy
Amplifying youth voices at the United Nations Children and Armed Conflict Conference
Last month, War Child accompanied a group of four youth advocates to an international conference on Children and Armed Conflict in Malta where they designed and hosted their own session. The youth presented recommendations of over 100 child and youth participants from War Child’s VoiceMore programmes in Colombia and Uganda to UN Member States, agencies, and civil society.
- Education
Scaling Access and Improving Continuity: The Next Phase of the Can't Wait to Learn Uganda Game
With Can’t Wait to Learn, digital personalised learning makes teachers work simpler, children’s learning more engaging, and support education officials in the use of data to inform policy making. We are excited to share the steps we’re taking to bring Can’t Wait to Learn even closer to achieving these goals, beginning in Uganda.
