Kenya: Christian Aid Urges Govt to Open New Refugee Camp
By Henry Neondo
DADAAB---Christian Aid Wednesday called on the Kenyan government to open a refugee camp that is currently standing empty to cope with the 1,400 new arrivals daily, mostly women and children, fleeing drought and conflict in neighbouring Somalia .
The Ifo II camp complete with new water tanks, lavatories and health care facilities was initially built as an overflow for Dadaab, the world’s biggest refugee camp.
Dadaab was designed to shelter 90,000 people, but now has a population of 380,000, with more arriving every day. Ifo II stands unused, however, and the Kenyan government has expressed concerns about the longer term impacts if large numbers of refugees are unable to return home.
Head of Christian Aid’s humanitarian division, Nick Guttmann , who today visited Dadaab, where Christian Aid works through the Lutheran World Federation, said: ‘We are grateful for all the Kenyan Government is already doing to help the growing numbers of refugees, and for allowing them enter Kenya without hindrance; but conditions in Dadabb are extremely difficult.
‘The numbers arriving are overwhelming and basic services are insufficient. Most people have been walking for weeks on end and are in a very poor state of health.
‘Many only make the very difficult and arduous journey to Dadaab when their last animals have died and they have no other choice.
‘‘It is essential that the new camp, Ifo II, is opened up as soon as possible as part of the urgent humanitarian response to the worsening situation affecting both those arriving in camps and communities across the region.
‘In the longer term sustainable solutions must be found.’
Antonio Guterres, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has called the drought, now affecting more than 11 million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, ‘the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today [which is] turning into a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions.’
In the UK , Christian Aid is part of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal which has so far raised more than £13m to help drought victims.
DEC Chief Executive Brendan Gormley said: ‘The UK public have donated the equivalent of £1 for each of the 10 million people in need in East Africa. A British pound can provide an emergency food parcel to feed a family in Kenya or Somalia for a week. We want people to know their generosity is making a difference.”
‘The more money we raise the more lives we can save in the short term, and the more help we can give people to rebuild their lives in the long term. It’s vital that people keep giving.’
The DEC East Africa Appeal has been presented by actor Jason Isaacs, actor and comedian Lenny Henry, broadcaster and journalist Kate Adie, and actress Fay Ripley.