Photo/FILE
Newly arrived Somali refugees walk to a registration center at the Daadab refugee camp on July 10,2011 in northeastern Kenya.
Daily Nation
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The United Nations requires about Sh83 billion to deal with the refugee crisis in Somalia and Sudan.
The funds will be ploughed into life-saving responses,
internally displaced persons/returnees and cholera preparedness, among
other things.
In Somalia, the UN is grappling with internally
displaced people and refugees who fled to Daabab in Kenya while in Sudan
it faces problems of returnees following the creation of the new state
of South Sudan.
A report by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says the money will also ease hunger caused
by a drought in Somalia. It says about 2.5 million people will need
food aid if the long rains fail.
The UN and Qatar will host a regional conference
where UN emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos will appeal for help
from governments and humanitarian players.
“A third of the Somali population is still in crisis and the number may grow if rains fail,” the report says.
It adds that last year’s famine resulted in the
arrival of more than 150,000 refugees in Daadab — a third of the camp’s
current population.
It has about 444,480 refugees.
The report says Ocha is rehabilitating 679km of
irrigation canals in 136 villages, increasing the area under irrigation
by 45,520 hectares.
“More water catchment preparations are taking place
in 231 villages to provide extra storage capacity for an estimated
298,104 animals for 90 days. About 15 to 20 per cent of the
rehabilitation work is complete,” the report says.
The report says Ocha was distributing seeds and
fertiliser to about 300,833 households while 55,833 households were
getting vegetable seeds.
“Problems in the camp include overcrowding and stretched resources as well as security,” the report says.
It adds that a recent survey revealed that 90 per
cent of the women’s shelters could not be locked, leaving them
vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence.
The report says refugee and IDP camps have been
provided with solar street lights to reduce risks. “The lights were
installed and handed over following an increase in reports of
gender-based violence in camps,” the report says.
Fuel efficient stoves were also being provided to reduce risk of attack when collecting firewood.