PLATFORMS

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 …

MOGADISHU — Following devastating rains in Somalia, UN humanitarians said on Monday they are launching a national flood preparedness and response plan with the authorities. “According to early estimates by our partners, more than 460,000 people have been affected, including nearly 219,000 people who have been displaced,” the UN Office …

MOGADISHU — Floods caused by the annual rains have left “a trail of destruction“ across Somalia, a United Nations spokesman said, citing inundated homes and farmland as well as the shutdown of health facilities. “According to early estimates by our partners, more than 460,000 people have been impacted, including nearly …

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 …

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 …

MOGADISHU — The Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia, Salah Jama, today launched the Development Coordination Forum, which brings together Somalia’s government and development partners. The Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Economic Development, discussed a new partnership that will unite the Somali government …

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 …

NAIROBI — The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Wednesday that it has appealed for $759 million to provide life-saving support to 16.6 million people, including 12.2 million children, in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia in 2023. Of that, $137.5 million is needed for Kenya. An additional $690 million is required …

NAIROBI/NEW YORK — UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell travelled to eastern Kenya yesterday to meet families and refugees struggling to recover from the worst climate-induced drought to hit the region in 40 years. After five poor or failed rainy seasons in the last three years in the Horn of Africa, many …

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 …