KAMPALA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday donated 500,000 U.S. dollars in contributing to Uganda's efforts in raising funds to support refugees in the east African nation.

Zheng Zhuqiang, Chinese ambassador to Uganda, while meeting Matia Kasaija, Uganda's finance minister, said the money will be used by Uganda in resettling of thousands of refugees in the country.

Kasaija said the Chinese donation comes at a critical time as the over 1.4 million refugees in the country are in dire need of humanitarian relief.

"I want to assure you that this money will be used to help those areas where the refugees are now residing because the communities are terribly inconvenienced," he said.

"We need new roads, schools, markets. We need to help the refugees also produce food for themselves and that they do not depend on the state," he said.

Relief agencies argue that the growing refugee population is imposing unbearable pressures on state and host communities with far reaching political, economic, social and developmental impacts.

A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report issued last week showed that the refugee population in Uganda increased by 44 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year.

Uganda hosts refugees from South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia, and Rwanda, among others.