Programs Current Crises
Latest news: "Topping this year's failed states index is...Somalia" (NPR, June 21)
An average of 7,000 Somalis per month cross into Kenya, fleeing war and hunger at home and overcrowding the largeset refugee settlement in the world.
The conflict in Somalia has displaced a million people within its own borders, left three million people in need of food aid and driven hundreds of thousands of refugees into neighboring countries.
The Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya reports nearly 60,000 Somali refugees settled into the camp in 2008. Not only have the camp's resources been dangerously overstretched by such staggering numbers, but according to UNHCR, the number of gender-based violence incidents reportedly doubled from 2007 to 2008. Lack of shelter and limited police presence have contributed to such an increase. Women are often vulnerable to sexual violence while grazing their animals or while gathering firewood.
The Dadaab camp was built to accommodate 90,000, but the number of residents has reached more than 275,000. Overcrowding has led to a great strain on water resources and sanitation systems.
The UNHCR and Kenyan authorities have recently pledged another 2000 hectares to build another camp south of Dadaab camp. The camp will be built to shelter 50,000.
Read more about the dangers associated with gathering firewood.
Since the beginning of the year, an estimated 10,000 people have fled violence and insecurity in Somalia to seek safety in neighboring Ethiopia. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that nearly 150 people are crossing the border each day.
The UNHCR is sending relief items to Dolo-Ado, the Somali region in southeast Ethiopia where thousands of refugees are settling. Included in the supplies are mosquito nets, blankets, jerry cans, plastic sheets, kitchen sets and water pumps. The World Food Program (WFP) has airlifted emergency food supplies and the World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing vaccines, medicines and other medical supplies. The numbers of refugees have increased since Ethiopia pulled its troops out of Somalia in recent months.
Many refugees claim they are fleeing because of overall insecurity and mistreatment by Al Shabab, the militant wing of an Islamist movement that has been leading a powerful insurgency against the weakened democratic government. Ethiopia's troops first invaded Somalia in December 2006 aiming to quell Somalia's 18-year civil war. The country has not had a functioning democracy since the ousting of its authoritarian ruler, Mohammad Said Barre, in 1991. Since Eritrean troops pulled out, the African Union has sent peace forces to assist government troops and police in fighting the Al Shabab militants.
Visit Reuters AlertNet for more background on the worsening conflict in Somalia.
