By Frederick Nzwili, Anglican Ink.
At least 45 million people are displaced and 1 million are stateless on the continent, according to the UN Refugees Agency, for reasons including war, conflict, persecution, colonial legacies, discrimination, and displacement.
Statelessness is highest in Coté d’Ivore where the numbers range between 700,000-930,000. Africa’s largest refugee population is in Uganda with 2 million. Roughly 55 percent of these refugees are South Sudanese.
Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, primate of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in South Sudan, said the church is responding to the needs of the country’s many refugees, displaced persons, and stateless persons from the neighbouring countries.
“What the church does first is to welcome them, pray, and offer them moral support,” said Arama. “[The church] also encourages the local communities to share what they have with them. [It] also advocates for their support and protection.”
After the country’s independence in 2011, many South Sudanese born in exile or in refugee camps became stateless or were left at risk of it.
According to Collins Omondi Omundu, a senior programme officer for protection and social cohesion at the Lutheran World Federation Kenya-Somalia, statelessness was a less visible concern but people are facing added challenges due lack of nationality, and their needs overlap with those of refugees.
“In refugee contexts, some individuals, particularly children born in displacement and those lacking civil documentation, risk being left without proof of nationality. This limits their access to basic rights and services and can perpetuate exclusion across generations,” said Omundu.
The federation operates a programme in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps focusing on education, child protection and inclusion, and livelihoods support, among other services. With over 850,000 refugees and asylum seekers, the two camps are among the largest in Africa with Dadaab hosting 430,000 and Kakuma and Kalobeyei over 300,000 refugees.