UN refugee chief to review Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, today began a four-day visit to Ethiopia and Kenya to check on the care provided to refugees fleeing Somalia.

Mr. Guterres will “review the emergency humanitarian response to the massive displacement crisis caused by conflict, drought and lack of food inside Somalia,” a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, known as UNHCR, said.

Relentless violence compounded by devastating drought has forced more than 135,000 Somalis to flee so far this year, UNHCR said. In June alone, 54,000 people fled into Ethiopia and Kenya.

UNHCR estimates that a quarter of Somalia’s population of 7.5 million people is now either internally displaced or living outside the country as refugees.

“Malnutrition rates among Somali refugee children arriving in Ethiopia and Kenya are alarmingly high and on a scale not seen in decades,” UNHCR said.

Mr. Guterres visited refugee centres in Ethiopia today and on Sunday he will visit the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya, the largest refugee settlement in the world, with more than 380,000 Somali refugees.

During his mission, Mr. Guterres is scheduled to have talks with members of the Ethiopian and Kenyan governments, as well as the diplomatic community in both countries.