Title: Conflict, Displacement And Human Security In Uganda: A Secondary Analysis Of Nakivale And Oruchinga Refugee Settlements
Authors: Michael Nick Odong
Volume: 10
Issue: 8
Pages: 110-114
Publication Date: 2026/08/28
Abstract:
Forced displacement has become one of the defining humanitarian and human-security challenges of the twenty-first century, with more than 120 million people displaced worldwide by the end of 2024 (UNHCR, 2025). Uganda hosts over 1.6 million refugees, making it Africa's largest refugee-hosting country, and its progressive settlement policy has drawn international recognition even as protracted displacement strains local resources and services. This article draws on a qualitative, desk-based secondary analysis of literature, institutional reports, and settlement dashboards published between 2018 and 2025 to examine how conflict-induced displacement shapes human security in Nakivale and Oruchinga Refugee Settlements, Isingiro District. Using the seven-pillar human security framework (UNDP, 2024) alongside Forced Migration Theory and Social Conflict Theory, the study finds that displacement has eroded economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political security in both settlements, with effects more acute in the larger, older Nakivale settlement. Refugees and host communities face overlapping constraints in accessing water, health care, education, and livelihoods, and although humanitarian agencies, government institutions, and refugees themselves have adopted a range of coping and intervention strategies, these remain constrained by chronic underfunding and uneven implementation. The article concludes that Uganda's progressive refugee model requires stronger integration of human security considerations into national and district planning, sustained multi-year financing, and expanded livelihood and social-cohesion programming to secure durable outcomes for refugees and host populations alike.