The UN refugee agency will open two new refugee camps in Kenya so as to accommodate the overflow in Dadaab camp which was originally designed to host 90,000 refugees but is currently home to about 300,000 refugees from Somalia.
Speaking in Nairobi during a meeting with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, visiting UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres said the UN agency was working out a package to provide financial support for projects aimed at addressing various socio-economic needs of the local community in order to minimize conflict between refugees and their hosts.
"Guterres briefed the President on refugee situation in the country and also sought government support in expanding existing camps in order to decongest them," said a statement issued after the meeting in Nairobi.
According to the statement, Guterres appreciated the government's initiative to provide land to expand the refugee camp.
Speaking during the meeting, Kibaki expressed his government's commitment to giving refugees decent amenities but said the Horn of Africa nation's crisis was worsening situation.
Kibaki affirmed that Kenya was committed and would continue to play its international obligation of providing humane and dignified amenities in the existing refugee camps in the country.
"The President, however, urged the international community and donors to lend their support to the government in order to host the refugees in decent humanitarian conditions with special attention to the establishment of new camps," the statement said.
President Kibaki said the state of security in Somalia was complicating the refugee situation in the country with 10,000 new refugees crossing into Kenya every month.
He, however, called for proper screening of all incoming refugees in order to control the inflow of illicit arms and light weapons which have been a major cause of insecurity in the country.
Currently Dadaab Refugee Complex which comprises of three campsites is resident to about 300,000 refugees against a designed capacity of 90,000 people thus causing overcrowding and overstretching of available facilities.
The congestion has contributed to serious environmental degradation in the locality coupled by poor sanitary conditions leading to outbreak of epidemics such as measles and tuberculosis.
Moreover there has been competition for available resources with the host communities because they live in the same environment.
The Kenyan leader noted that there was need to address the congestion urgently and termed it a logistical constraint in terms of disaster management in case of floods and fire outbreaks.
The President noted that the government has initiated efforts to address the overcrowding through acquisition of land by engaging the local community to establish new campsites.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2009)
