Using tagline, ‘Humanity Needs You’, the URCS Humanitarian Response Fund was launched by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja at Kampala Serena hotel on December 3, 2024.
Nabbanja was represented by Local Government minister Raphael Magyezi. URCS secretary general Robert Kwesiga announced the fund’s trustee board members as Dr Elly Karuhanga (chair), Dr Peter Kimbowa, Grace Muliisa, Judy Rugasira and Zhang Hao.
He said the fund will be managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and its accounts will be availed to the public every year. He disclosed that it was already operational, with at least six donations already received.
The Humanitarian Response Fund is an initiative of the celebrations of URCS’ 60 years of existence. Kwesiga said the society was set up by an Act of parliament in 1964; however, that statutory instrument is being revised to be more appropriate to the current situation. Currently, the society is recognized as a voluntary aid organisation and an auxiliary to Government of Uganda.
URCS is the leading humanitarian organisation in Uganda, saving lives, building resilience in communities and training capacity especially in the health sector. It handled 18 major emergencies in the country in 2024 alone.
Disaster Preparedness and Refugees minister Eng. Hilary Onek said URCS receives Shs 6bn from Uganda’s national budget. He said the government has good policies and plans to address the various emergencies, but funding is a major handicap.
He said the national budget allocates three per cent to the ‘Contingency Fund’; however, only 15 per cent of that, equivalent to 0.45 per cent of national budget, goes to disaster operations.
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