UN emergency food agency resumes full food rations in Kenyan refugee camps

The United Nations emergency food agency resumed rations this month to refugees in Kenya's Dadaab and Kakuma camps, but cautioned that there is not enough funding to also provide cash transfers through the summer.

Each month, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) provides each refugee with a mix of food items – cereals, pulses, vegetable oil, and nutrient-enriched flour – and cash, sent through mobile telephones, allowing refugees to buy food products of their choice from local markets.

“We are pleased to announce that can resume full rations for the refugees thanks to new donor contributions,” said Annalisa Conte, WFP's Country Director for Kenya. “However, we are urging our donors to continue making new resources available to enable us to carry on providing this much-needed food assistance for 420,000 people.”

WFP has said that was able to restore the full food ration for all refugees from April to July. However, the funding currently available for cash transfers – which make up 30 percent of the refugees' food assistance – will last only until May.

This is already a boost from last year, when a lack of funds forced WFP to cut food rations in the camps by 50 per cent, potentially endangering refugees' nutrition and health.

Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp, bordering near Somalia, while Kakuma takes in mostly Sudanese refugees, bordering near South Sudan and Uganda. Both camps are run by the Kenyan Government.