This time last year, the Bidi Bidi refugee camp in Uganda didn't exist; today, it's home to more than 270,000 people who fled war and famine in South Sudan.
What was once just brush is now crisscrossed with roads and dotted with buildings. Bidi Bidi opened in August 2016, and by the end of the year, 260,000 people had already made their way there. It is now the world's largest refugee camp, the U.N. says, larger than the Dadaab camp in Kenya that has welcomed Somali refugees for more than two decades.
At least 50,000 people have died in the conflict in South Sudan since it began in 2013, and more than 800,000 refugees have fled to Uganda; on Tuesday alone, 3,000 refugees crossed the border, NPR reports. The U.N. says this is the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world, and humanitarian needs have reached "unprecedented levels."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
