The Zambia Initiative and the Ugandan Self-Reliance Strategy exemplify the potential to integrate refugees into national-development plans. They demonstrate that it is not inevitable that refugees will be perceived as burdens that need to be confined to camps or closed settlements. Instead, these cases in Zambia and Uganda highlight the role refugees can play as active agents of development, contributing to the economy and society of the host state. The Zambia Initiative represents the most salient case study for the implementation of Development through Local Integration, while the Ugandan Self-Reliance Strategy shows how interim self-sufficiency can be developed prior to repatriation.

The Zambia Initiative

Due to the longstanding nature of the Angolan civil war, Angolan refugees have been present in Zambia's Western Province for more than 30 years. The local authorities have routinely provided between 6 and 12 fertile acres on which refugees can grow crops. This has allowed the majority of refugees in, for example, Mayukwayukwa and Meheba settlements to become self-sufficient in food and end their dependence on World Food Programme rations. They have also been able to sell their produce in nearby towns and even as far away as Lusaka, thanks to 30-60 day travel passes provided by the authorities. The refugee populations have therefore lived alongside their local hosts for many years. The significance of these refugees' contribution to the local community is highlighted by the collapse in food production in western Zambia after the repatriation of 220,000 Angolans in 2002.

In June 2001, a joint UNHCR and United Nations Office for Project Services mission to Zambia's Western Province explored the possibility of addressing the needs of the host population as well refugees in the area. After discussions with major donors, partners and stakeholders, it recommended an integrated approach to infrastructure and socio-economic development in refugee-hosting areas that would build upon initiatives already underway in the province. Besides helping host communities, such an approach would be more likely to contribute to an enabling environment and security for refugees. UNHCR has coordinated and monitored the initiative since its inception in 2002.

The initiative rests on two pillars: poverty reduction, with priority given to agriculture, health, education and infrastructure; and empowerment of refugees and their local integration for a durable solution. Progress was to be reviewed every three months. The project sought to address the strain on local resources and the food deficit which has emerged since 2002 to allow the province to continue to host and integrate refugees while benefiting the local population. The focus of the initiative has been on small-scale, community-based development projects such as wells, food-storage silos, health facilities and rural-credit schemes.

Through the Zambia Initiative, refugees have been integrated within the government's National Development Plan and its poverty-reduction strategy. The initiative has attracted resources through its concept of flexible funding, which allows donors to contribute in line with their own priorities and budget lines. The main contributions have come from Denmark, Sweden, Japan, the United States and the European Union. They total more than US$14 million and benefit some 456,000 people, including 150,000 refugees.

Uganda's Self-Reliance Strategy

Uganda has been hosting refugees since the 1940s. Despite never having formally adopted refugee legislation, a policy of local settlement has been in place since the arrival of these early refugees. It is estimated that the government has made more than 3,300 square kilometres of land available to refugees for settlement on the basis of ‘right of use for the time that they are in exile'.

The government has attempted to promote self-reliance and local integration by allowing refugees to grow their own crops on the small plots of land provided. Since the influx of nearly 200,000 Sudanese refugees in the late 1980s, it has made large amounts of land available in the northwest Nile Region. When compared with refugees confined to camps, many of those in the settlements have achieved a relatively high degree of free movement and food self-sufficiency. For instance, refugees in the Kiryandongo settlement in northeastern Uganda achieved self-sufficiency by 1995, allowing the phasing-out of food distribution.

Recognizing the role that refugees can play in the development of their own and their host communities, in 1998 the Government of Uganda and UNHCR established the Self-Reliance Strategy. Focusing on the districts of Adjumani, Arua and Moyo in the West Nile region, its goal was to improve the standard of living of all people – including refugees – in those districts. The principal goals of the project were to empower refugees and nationals in the area to support themselves and to integrate services for the refugees with those for nationals. The 1999-2003 strategy planned to phase out all food assistance by 2001. By 2003, it was forecast, the refugees would be able to grow or buy their own food, have access to and pay for basic services, and maintain self-sustaining communities.

The mid-term review of the project, in 2004, revealed the initiative's positive impact and its limitations. The review noted that there had been an increase in food production by both refugees and the local host communities. In certain areas of Adjumani, such as Mogula, where the land is very fertile, surveys suggested that up to 90 per cent self-sufficiency had been achieved, allowing food distribution to be phased out in a number of settlements. Self-sufficiency had also increased the range of foods available. Meanwhile, the integration of refugee children into Uganda's Universal Primary Education initiative had promoted social cohesion and refugees' interaction with host communities. Limited facilities were provided to support youth training in carpentry or brick laying, for example, in Rhino camp in Arua. The review also pointed to improvements in healthcare and water safety.

However, despite these achievements, the review makes clear that the four-year schedule to make the refugees self-reliant was overly ambitious. The small plot sizes and poor soil quality in certain areas have meant that some refugees continue to depend on food rations. This is particularly the case in Arua, where refugees are mainly settled in the Nile Basin area and face irregular rainfall and poor soil. In Adjumani and Moyo districts, soil exhaustion and bad farming practices have had the same results.

The lessons learnt from the project could be applied in the ongoing transition from self-reliance to Development Assistance for Refugees. As part of its strategy to assist refugees in their region of origin, the Danish Government has taken a lead role in the programme. Consequently, it is envisaged that UNHCR will play the part of facilitator, rather than actively coordinating assistance. For its part, the Ugandan government has responded to the mid-term review by seeking to include a wider range of stakeholders and development partners in the existing process.

Future directions

Box 6.2 Afghanistan - a complex transition