IOM Steps Up Medical Assistance, Emergency Shelter and Livelihood Support in the Horn of Africa
More than 2,000 Somali refugees arriving in Kenya at the border
town of Liboi, have been immunized from polio and measles, in a new
joint campaign by IOM and the Government of Kenya.
Working closely with Kenya's Ministry of Public Health and
Sanitation, the organization launched on 6 October 2011, a measles
and polio vaccination drive for all new arriving Somali migrants up
to 29 years of age.
The start of the campaign followed the resumption of
humanitarian activities at Liboi, which had been halted temporarily
due to security concerns.
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The immunization campaign is in response to a number of
outbreaks of both measles and polio at various locations in the
north-eastern province of Kenya, where thousands of Somalis fleeing
from famine and drought, are seeking refuge.
It is also part of IOM's pre-departure medical assessment of
each refugee, which is carried out before the Organization
facilitates their transport to Dadaab Camps. And, it supports the
Kenyan government's country-wide measles and polio vaccination
efforts.
So far 2,063 persons have been vaccinated at the Liboi point of
entry, 18 km from the Kenya/Somali border. Staff of Kenya's
Ministry of Health administer the polio vaccine to children below
the age of five years. The measles vaccine is given to children 6
months and older and to adults aged 29 and below.
IOM then gives the refugees temporary vaccination cards to avoid
any duplication in the Dadaab Camps, which now house 458,636
refugees as of 6 October.
In Ethiopia, IOM with support from the Ethiopian Administration
for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA), WHO, UNHCR and Humedica
International Aid, conducted training on Acute Watery Diarrhoea
(AWD) at the Bokomanyo and Melkedida refugee camps. The training
which took place on 5-6 October 2011, involved 41 primary ARRA
health workers working in the refugee camps. They were trained on
identifying, reporting and treating AWD.
Since the latest security clearance was issued at the beginning
of October, IOM has transported 2,252 refugees to Dadaab. In total,
IOM has assisted in the transportation of 41,337 refugees to Dadaab
since July.
To help cope with the influx, IOM has pitched 7,654 tents
at IFO 2 extension camp – an exercise that was completed
three days ahead of schedule. The organisation is now
planning to set up transitional shelters in phase two of the
project.
Meanwhile, IOM has intensified its livelihood support programme
aimed at assisting 40,000 pastoralists in the hard hit areas of
North Eastern Kenya, to withstand the effects of drought and the
influx of the displaced Somalis. The organization continued to
provide training on pasture and storage, the importance of feed
supplements and conservation to the pastoralists at various
locations. On 6 October 2011, training was conducted at Liboi
after having been postponed due to the UN security alert. So far
118 pastoralists have been trained out of the targeted 150.
For more information please contact:
Judith Szabo
IOM Kenya
Tel: +254 734 860 286
E-mail:
"mailto:jszabo@iom.int">jszabo@iom.int