IOM Finds Life Threatening Conditions on the Road to Dadaab; Responds to Emergency in Ethiopia's Refugee Camps
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.
Gallery
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title="">Saving Victims of Severe Drought
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 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.
For more information please contact:
Galev Aleksandar
IOM Nairobi
Tel: +254 20 4444 174/167 Ext. 236
E-mail:
"mailto:agalev@iom.int">agalev@iom.int
or
Josiah Ogina
IOM Addis Ababa
Tel: +251116611133
E-mail:
"mailto:jogina@iom.int">jogina@iom.int