Monday May 2, 2022
One year after Kenya announced it will close refugee camps
in the country by July this year, refugees in Dadaab are staring at a storm.
Médecins Sans Frontières-Doctors Without Borders project
coordinator in Dadaab says lack of clarity over the future of the camps has
affected humanitarian agencies.
They say it has also negatively impacted their ability to
scale up assistance for refugees and host communities since many are struggling
to secure funding and plan future activities.
Philippe Mathys, the public engagement and acquisition
coordinator said durable solutions are still not within reach for the over
200,000 refugees in Dadaab.
"Humanitarian assistance remains way below what is
needed, the reverberating economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic along
soaring prices of essential commodities have nibbledcoping capacities,” Mathys
said.
It comes at a time when refugees say they are having to
share meagre resources with rising numbers of new arrivals in the camps.
Many have been forced to move in search of food and water as
withering drought sweeps east Africa.
New arrivals cannot access services provided in the camps
after Kenya stopped registering asylum seekers in 2016.
This year, MSF's outreach teams have reported some 105 new
arrivals, mostly from Somali.
“All progress being made towards integrating refugees in
Kenya are outpaced by new humanitarian needs on the ground as refugees have
depleted the few options they had," Mathys said.
Food rations have remained inadequate as a result of
constant funding cuts.
Informal jobs in the camps are few as economic activity is
weak and humanitarian operations paralysed.
According to MSF, malnutrition admissions in their health
centre in Dagahaley camp is on the rise, more than doubling in February
compared to last year.
The camp closure announcement brought further uncertainty,
heightening mental health concerns.
According to MSF, substance abuse among the youth in the
camps has risen and cases of attempted suicide among refugees have increased.
The new Refugee Act brought in by Kenya this year has
shifted the focus from closing the camps to easing refugees’ integration in the
country.
It has revived previously stalled efforts to work towards
providing work opportunities and access to public services for refugees.
“We now urgently need strong political will and increased
donor support to drive the process of refugee integration," Dana Krause,
MSFs country director said.
“Kenya should
immediately announce that camps will not close and release a roadmap for
integration to put an end to uncertainty among refugees.
"Donors must swiftly step-up support so they can scale
up assistance and protection for refugees including new arrivals before the
humanitarian situation deteriorates further.”
Krause said the international community, have a
responsibility to push for integration for refugee communities to be self
dependant.
“Kenya and donor countries must double down on efforts to
provide durable solutions for refugees," she said.
"They must ensure the availability of predictable and
timely humanitarian assistance to address critical needs and support refugees’
transition towards a dignified life."
The complex situation has left the government torn between
its domestic interests and international obligations, some of which are binding
and can attract consequences if violated.
Last year, the government announced it will close the
complex over insecurity issues.
A similar attempt was made in 2019 following the DusitD2
complex terror attack in Nairobi, where 21 people were killed.
This is after it emerged one of the five men in the attack
came to Kenya through Dagahaley refugee camp in the larger Dadaab complex.
Police investigations showed the unidentified suspect posed
as a refugee before he was facilitated and brought to Nairobi to execute the
attack.
In 2016, government ordered the closure of Dadaab refugee
camp.
The then Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery cited
security, environmental degradation and economic concerns as the key factors
that had informed government's decision to close the camp.
The court also declared the repatriation of refugees
unconstitutional, describing it discriminative.
The judge directed government to adopt mechanisms that would
ensure the department dealing with refugee affairs is functioning properly.
Last year, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and his team delivered
their message on closing the camps, citing insecurity and attacks linked to
accomplices of al Shabaab.
UNHCR urged Kenya to ensure any decisions on closure allows
for suitable and sustainable solutions.