IOM Finds Life Threatening Conditions on the Road to Dadaab; Responds to Emergency in Ethiopia’s Refugee Camps
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 29, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Desperate Somalis escaping the famine in South Central Somalia on foot into neighbouring Kenya are in dire need of food, water, medical care and transportation assistance.
An IOM team saw hundreds of exhausted Somalis on the 90 km stretch of broken tarmac road between the border town of Liboi and the Dadaab camps in north-eastern Kenya.
The IOM team, which travelled the road to assess the conditions in the border region assisted many exhausted elderly persons, pregnant women and women with small children and family members squatting by the roadside, unable to continue their journey. They were stranded, waiting for help under the intense heat of the desert.
Their long trek, under intense heat, coupled with a lack of food and water, have lead to widespread exhaustion, dehydration, acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malnutrition among the fleeing Somalis.
Most of the refugees come from the Gedo district, in the middle and Lower Juba regions of south-western Somalia. Many say they have walked for up to three weeks to reach the Liboi border crossing between Kenya and Somalia.
The closure of the Kenya-Somali border means that many Somalis are using unofficial crossing points to avoid the Kenyan authorities, mistakenly convinced that they will be refused entry if spotted by the authorities.
IOM and other humanitarian partners are concerned that many vulnerable people, who are using these alterative routes, may not reach Dadaab camp where they can get assistance.
With funding from UNICEF received on 28 July, IOM will provide transport assistance to Somalis stranded between the border and Dadaab. Priority will be given to those who are vulnerable, particularly women, children, the physically weak and the sick.
IOM has already received funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to launch projects in north-eastern Kenya to support host communities by rehabilitating water facilities, building sand dams and wells, as well as re-restocking the communities with camels that can withstand drought conditions.
Meanwhile, in Ethiopia, IOM is providing medical emergency assistance to Somalis sheltering in Melkedida and Bokolmanyo camps, close to the town of Dolo Odo, some 30 kms from the border with Somalia. The medical emergency response, co-organized with Ethiopia’s Administration for Refugees, Returnees Affairs (ARRA), aim to reach thousands of refugees who have been affected by the worst drought in the Horn of Africa for decades.
The IOM medical team will lend its support to on-going efforts to provide assistance to those most in need, especially among severely malnourished children and adults. IOM is also setting up mobile clinics to decongest the current health facilities, which are overcrowded. Awareness activities are also planned to reduce the health risks among the camp population.
The team is also working in close collaboration with ARRA, UNHCR and other humanitarian partners to address the needs of the population and provide services including transportation, shelter and Non Food Items, such as plastic sheets, blankets and soap. Work is also ongoing to identify and procure additional vehicles to transport Somalis from the border to the camps.
The humanitarian situation in the drought affected area of the Horn of Africa is dire, and has lead to a huge influx of people. Currently, more than 11.5 million people are in need of life saving assistance.
IOM intends to increase its humanitarian response to the crisis in Kenya and Ethiopia in close partnership with governmental and non governmental bodies, focusing on addressing urgent medical and transportation needs in the border areas.
SOURCE
International Office of Migration (IOM)
