IOM and Partners have, over the last eight months, provided
transport assistance to 100,000 Somalis fleeing into Kenya and
Ethiopia because of war and famine.

From its reception centre at Dollo Ado, on the border between
Somalia and Ethiopia, IOM used buses and trucks to assist arriving
refugees and their possessions reach the main Ethiopian camps of
Bokolomanyo, Melkedida and Halweyn which are located some 35
kilometres away from Dollo Ado.

IOM has also helped transport those refugees who were stranded
in Kenya on their way to the Daadab camp. Many had been unable to
continue further unassisted because of exhaustion, illness and lack
of food and water, after spending many weeks travelling on foot
from their homes in Lower Shabelle and Bakool in Southern and
central Somalia.

The Organization also relocated refugees who have been living in
and around Dagahaley on the outskirts of the Daadab for lack of
space, to new extensions at IFO 1 and IFO 2.

IOM was asked by the UNHCR to relocate the refugees to various
camps in Kenya and Ethiopia to avoid congestion.

At the peak of the influx 2,000 displaced Somalis were arriving
daily at the transit centre at Dollo Ado, in Ethiopia.  In
Kenya, about 1,200 Somalis were being received daily at Daadab, the
largest refugee camp in the world.

Up to 25th January, 2012, IOM has provided transport to 54,710
of the displaced Somalis in Ethiopia to reach the five camps of
Melkedida, Bokolmayo, Kobe, Hilweyn and Buramino.

In Kenya, 46,139 have been assisted to reach the camps at
Daadab, IFO 1 and IFO 2.

Transporting people out of severely over-crowded camps and
centres has been vital because the congested conditions are
dangerous for refugees' health and well-being. Taking them to areas
where they have proper access to life-saving assistance ensures
that they have adequate shelter, food, water and sanitation. In
Ethiopia, IOM transport has also been assisting to re-unite
separated families in the camps.

Meanwhile, IOM has started constructing two Health Posts for the
Somali refugees in Ethiopian camps. The amenities will have wards
for treating Acute Watery Diarrhoea, the main disease affecting the
residents in the camps, particularly the children. The first such
post will be constructed at Bokolmanyo camp in Ethiopia.

Another Health Post is planned for Melkedida camp which houses
40,000 displaced Somalis. The extended health support in the
Melkadida and Bokolmanyo, aims to bolster the capacity of the
Ethiopian Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARAA)
efforts to support primary health care in the two camps.

The Organization has deployed three visiting specialists, a
psychiatrist, gynaecologist and ophthalmologists who are offering
specialized mental and eye healthcare, as well as gynaecological
services for women and girls in the camps.

In Kenya, IOM is providing medical assistance to the government
of Kenya by seconding locally recruited staff to the ministry of
health. The staff provide vaccinations to new arrival Somalis and
work with local health centres to assist the host community.

The medical emergency response, co-organized with ARRA, aims to
reach thousands of refugees who have been affected by the worst
drought in the Horn of Africa for decades.

In Kenya,

Lillian Matama

IOM Nairobi

Tel: + 254713601043

E-mail:  "mailto:lmatama@iom.int">lmatama@iom.int  

or

John McCue

IOM Dadaab

Tel: +254722202173

E-mail: "mailto:jmccue@iom.int">jmccue@iom.int 

In Ethiopia,

Demissew Buziwork

Tel: +251 11 661 11 71

E-mail: "mailto:dbuziworka2@iom.int">dbuziworka2@iom.int