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Refugees Celebrate World Refugee Day Without Enough to Eat - UN Finance - Global Policy Forum
Refugees Celebrate World Refugee
Day Without Enough to EatAfrica News
June 20, 2002The United Nations World Food Programme today warned that refugees in Kenya are celebrating the World Refugee Day under the spectre of worsening food shortages.
Lack of funds to provide food aid to the 205,000 refugees currently living in camps in Kakuma and Dadaab, forced WFP this month to cut significantly the level of assistance given to the refugee population. The food ration is now well below the standard 2,166 kcal per person, per day. In Kakuma camp food rations are now at 1,600 kcal a day, while in Dadaab are at 1,900 kcal a day. Further reductions in the amount of food given to refugees are expected if no contributions came forward urgently.
"On this World Refugee Day, we are very concerned with food shortages," said Tesema Negash, WFP's Representative in Kenya. "Our daily food ration is the bare minimum. Having to reduce it further poses a major threat to the nutritional status and health of the refugees."
The agency is appealing to the international community to come forward with urgent contributions to prevent the deterioration of the situation. Without urgent donations, next month WFP will have to make further cuts to the food rations.
Living in camps located in extremely remote, inhospitable and dry areas, the refugees have little or no opportunities to fend for themselves and find independent sources of income. Possibilities to find work, to engage in agricultural activities or raise livestock are almost non-existent. The refugee population in Kenya is almost totally dependent on food aid and relief assistance to survive.
"The World Refugee Day gives us an opportunity to raise yet again the alarm for the plight of the refugees," said Negash. "They rely on the international community and we have a commitment towards them that we cannot fail. It takes about three months for a pledge to be transformed into actual food available at the camps. We need contributions now to avoid a very serious crisis in the months to come."
WFP is frequently forced to reduce drastically food rations due to the chronic shortage of resources affecting the refugee programme, that last time being in February. A subsequent donation by the Japanese Government allowed WFP to buy 18,000 tonnes of cereals, which improved the situation. The United States and Swedish Governments have also supported the programme.
Despite these contributions, the agency is currently short of resources to purchase some 3,200 tonnes of pulses, vegetable oil, and Corn Soya Blend - a highly nutritional porridge for children.
These are protein rich commodities and their absence in the regular food basket of the refugees has a major impact in the nutritional value of the food provided.
The number of refugees in Kenya has increased significantly since 1999 given the level of insecurity prevailing in the neighbouring countries such as Sudan and Somalia. A recent influx from the Gedo region of Somalia has swollen the refugee population in Kenya by another 3,000 to 4,000 people, and funding requirements are bound to increase.
WFP is the United Nations' front-line agency in the fight against global hunger. In 2001, WFP fed more than 77 million people in 82 countries including most of the world's refugees and internally displaced people.
WFP Global School Feeding Campaign -- As the largest provider of nutritious meals to poor school children, WFP has launched a global campaign aimed at ensuring the world's 300 million undernourished children are educated.
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