Journalists from Uganda and South Sudan have formed a network whose aim is to address the information needs of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, their host communities and internally displaced persons in South Sudan.
In a statement on Friday, the journalists said the network named ‘‘Cross Border Network’’ will promote training and sharing of content between South Sudan radio stations and their Ugandan counterparts in areas hosting South Sudanese refugees in northern and north western Uganda.
“One Million South Sudanese refugees in Uganda is a significant population with unique information needs. Equally important is the information needs of their host communities. The network intends to address this existing gap’’ said Moses Odokonyero, the Uganda Coordinator of the journalists’ network.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) puts the number of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda at 1.2 million. There are an estimated 2 million internally displaced persons in South Sudan.
South Sudanese in refuge in Uganda and their fellow citizens back home in South Sudan have information needs on their situations in the two countries.
‘‘The collaboration between Uganda and South Sudan journalists will enable the relatives of the refugees in Uganda to get information about what is happening in South Sudan and for their relatives in South Sudan to know what is happening in Uganda,’’ said Josephine Achiro, the South Sudan coordinator of the network.
The Cross Border Network (CBN) was formed during a recent meeting from June 19- June 23 in Kampala supported. The meeting was supported by the German media development organization, DW Akademie.
The journalists’ network has 24 radio stations from different parts of South Sudan and north western Uganda.
