Conflict in northern Uganda has blighted a country once described as the Pearl of Africa and driven more than 1.7 million people from their homes.

Around 188 camps are sprawled across northern and eastern Uganda, where internally displaced people (IDPs) have been living in squalid conditions and in fear of their lives for many years.

In the worst affected districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Lira, Pader, Amuria and Katakwai, a massive 90 per cent of the population has been displaced.

Red Cross assistance has been vital in the camps, particularly in the area of water and sanitation.

Harriet Atim, UNOCHA national officer, Katakwi 

Unbelievably, it is a humanitarian crisis that has received little international media attention as the conflict rumbles on into its 20th year.

With the support of the British Red Cross, many of those displaced have received water, seeds, tools and other life-saving relief.The British Red Cross has been supporting the Ugandan Red Cross, which has a network of staff and volunteers working tirelessly on the ground, in the north for many years. It is estimated the Ugandan Red Cross has provided assistance to more than 734,000 people in the north since 2002.

The Red Cross is one of the few organisations that has access to some of the more remote areas and can therefore reach the most vulnerable. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is also working in the three most northerly parts of the country.

Attacks

People mainly fled their homes as a result of attacks by a group calling themselves the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). They have committed countless murders and rapes over the years as well as abducted children as child soldiers.

In Amuria and Katakwi districts, many villagers are also terrorised by a group called the Karamajong who raid areas for cattle.

Last year peace talks were held between the LRA and the Government of Uganda, which has improved the security situation to the extent that around 300,000 people have moved nearer to their villages and even back home completely.However, there is still no sign of permanent peace and so the Red Cross is working to alleviate conditions in the camps as well as helping to restore the lives of those who have returned home.

Robert Okila, a Ugandan Red Cross logistician who has experienced the conflict at first hand, said: "People appreciate what the Ugandan Red Cross has done – that in time of dire need we are here. They see us as a sign of hope."

Harriet Atim, from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Katakwi district, praised the efforts of the Red Cross.

"The Red Cross assistance has been vital in the camps, particularly in the area of water and sanitation. They have also provided seeds, tools and household items, but the need is so great that distributions could be doubled."