NAIROBI — A humanitarian group has raised alarm over rising malnutrition in refugee camps in northern Kenya. The International Rescue Committee said Thursday that children have been particularly affected as food rations fall due to decreased funding. The group said the number of patients admitted to camp hospitals for malnutrition …
Read More »UN agency denounces lack of funding for Somali refugees in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA — Two months after the launch of the interagency refugee response appeal to provide support for Somali refugees fleeing to Ethiopia since February, only 2% of the dedicated funds have been received. The appeal was for $116 million (about €107 million), said the United Nations High Commissioner for …
Read More »Somalia: the harsh reality of the devastating impact of forced evictions
Droughts and armed conflicts, combined with the lack of access to essential services in different parts of Somalia, have forced thousands of people to migrate from rural areas to cities. Mogadishu, Baidoa, Kismayo and Beletweyne are among the final destinations of the displaced populations. This has created a huge number …
Read More »Cholera outbreak hits East Africa’s largest refugee camp
NAIROBI — A cholera outbreak has affected 2,786 people in Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee camp, home to over 300,000 refugees, most from neighboring Somalia. At a press conference in Nairobi on Tuesday morning, Doctors without Borders (MSF) warned of a looming health catastrophe in the camp if the situation persists. Two …
Read More »Aid agencies: Over 1 M are internally displaced in Somalia in four months
MOGADISHU — Severe drought, recurrent conflict and devastating floods have forced more than 1 million people in Somalia to flee their homes in just 130 days, two aid agencies said Wednesday. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said the record rate of displacement in …
Read More »Kenya’s radical solution to age-old refugee problem
NAIROBI — Kenya’s two biggest refugee camps could be transformed into new permanent urban centres in a move to relieve Nairobi of the security burden while sustaining its humanitarian obligations. The changeover, expected to be in effect within five years, will mean all the refugees currently hosted in Dadaab and …
Read More »Flooding in Somalia displaces 200,000 people
BELEDWEYNE — Around 200,000 people have been displaced due to flash flooding in central Somalia, a regional official told AFP Saturday, as the Shabelle River burst its banks and submerged roads. Inhabitants of Beledweyne town in the Hiiraan region were forced out of their homes as heavy rainfall caused water …
Read More »New settlement brings hope to Somali refugees fleeing conflict
MIRQAAN, Ethiopia — Hinda Mahdi and her children flinch as the bus door slams shut behind them. They are the last family to board for the ride to Mirqaan, a new settlement in Ethiopia’s Somali region, allocated to house Somali refugees fleeing violence back home. The slamming door momentarily takes …
Read More »IOM seeks funding to help migrants in Somalia
MOGADISHU — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has urgently appealed for funding to assist migrants facing life-threatening risks in Somalia. Funding to assist migrants in the country has fallen drastically over the years, while the needs of the migrant population continue to increase due to climatic shocks, conflicts, and …
Read More »Somalia launches first census in nearly 50 years
MOGADISHU — The Somali government has launched its first national population and housing census in decades, which is expected to take two years. “We will be counting those who live in the Somali territory and the houses they live in,” Dr. Abdi Ali Ige, head of the Somali Population and …
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Somali Observatory for Humanitarian Affairs The Voice of Reality.. The Eye of Humanitarian Truth in Somalia