KAMPALA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Uganda and the UN Refugee Agency have established a centralized call center, which will make communication between refugees and humanitarian agencies more instant.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Uganda said in a statement on Thursday that the refugees will use the call center to report urgent protection and assistance-related problems, receive guidance on queries that they raise, lodge complaints about sensitive incidents or obtain general information and advice.
"The calls will be answered in real time and the complaints will be transferred to relevant agencies for resolution, while ensuring confidentiality of the information received through the helpline," the agency said.
Joel Boutroue, the UNHCR Representative in Uganda said refugees and asylum seekers need critical information in real time.
"They actively seek updates and advice, but often get a range of misinformation on social media. Setting up a call center for refugees will immediately address some of these issues," Boutroue said.
The call center will initially receive calls from Kiryandongo and Nakivale refugee settlements for at least one month before rolling out to all refugee settlements in the country by the end of the year.
UNHCR figures show that Uganda currently hosts about 1.4 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
