( CNN ) -- About 11.6 million Africans have been forced from their homes by wars and other conflicts , according to the United Nations . Next week in Uganda , leaders from across the continent will converge to tackle the issue . Somali women at a camp for displaced persons . Nearly half of the displaced people in the world are found in Africa , according to the United Nations . `` Africa is the continent most affected by the scourge and tragedy of forced displacement , '' the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement . `` While refugee populations have declined in recent years , internal displacement continues to rise and the number of people uprooted from their homes is mounting . '' During the weeklong African Union summit that will start Monday in the capital , Kampala , the leaders are expected to sign a pledge to help the displaced across the continent , according to the U.N. agency for refugee issues . The agreement `` would be the first legally binding international instrument on internal displacement having such broad regional scope , '' the agency said . Aid agencies have blasted some African countries for failing refugees and internally displaced people . Last month , Oxfam International released an explosive report accusing Kenya and Ethiopia of housing Somali refugees in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions . It said the Somali government also is abandoning its internally displaced . `` Somalis flee one of the world 's most brutal conflicts and a desperate drought , only to end up in unimaginable conditions in camps that are barely fit for humans , '' said Robbert Van den Berg , a spokesman for Oxfam International in the Horn of Africa . `` Hundreds of thousands of children are affected , and the world is abandoning the next generation of Somalis when they most need our help . '' On a visit to a refugee camp in northern Kenya that houses Somalis , actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie called it `` one of the most dire '' she had ever seen . The camp -- which has facilities for about 90,000 -- houses 280,000 refugees . `` The toilets are already overflowing , '' Jolie said last month . `` There is not even enough space for trash dumps , so people are living amongst the garbage . '' Kenyan officials have said they are working on a solution . In neighboring Uganda , a government spokesman said it had taken steps to ensure displaced people and refugees have access to resources to become self-sufficient . `` The numbers of displaced have drastically gone down , '' Fred Opolot said . `` The government offers them relocation packages , including planting seeds , cooking items and building materials . '' The east African nation has followed international protocol , Opolot said , noting that it was chosen to host the African Union summit on refugees . `` Uganda does not just set up camps ; it builds facilities for them , '' Opolot said . `` There may well be some African countries that have not followed protocols . ... The summit will reassess the challenges they have and set up steps to ensure they follow international protocol . ''
African leaders converge to tackle problem of conflict-displaced people . Nearly half of the displaced people in the world are found in Africa . Aid agencies have criticized some African countries for failing refugees .