Thousands of Somali refugees arrive in Dadaab camp amid drought

Over 55,000 refugees from Somalia have flocked into Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp in the last two months as extreme drought in Horn of Africa continues, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

In a report on Monday, IRC warned that the number of refugees arrivals into Dadaab camp is expected to rise to 120,000 by early 2023.

Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa region is struggling with devastating droughts due to the impact of climate change. The droughts have claimed thousands of lives and displaced many more others in recent months.

The report urged the international leaders “to scale up funding and drought response activities across the region”.

IRC noted that the camp is severely overcrowded and lacks funding and basic services which could plague it into a serious public health crisis.

“With no registration of Somali asylum seekers since 2016, humanitarian assistance needs to be scaled up to address the demands of new arrivals, long-time refugees and host communities, as they continue to suffer due to the drought,” the report read.

Since 1991, Dadaab has been home to thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war in Somalia.