DPA/Nairobi


Internally displaced Somalis carry their belongings as they arrive in Mogadishu in search of greener pastures following a prolonged drought
A severe drought in the eastern Horn of Africa is leading to a “grave” refugee situation and is unlikely to improve before next year, a humanitarian organisation warned yesterday.
Care International said more than 1,000 refugees were arriving daily at the Daadab settlements in northern Kenya.
“The situation in Daadab is grave,” said Stephen Gwynne-Vaughan, Care’s country director in Kenya, according to a statement.
“Thousands of Somalis are walking for weeks to reach the camp, many of them arriving acutely malnourished, dehydrated, with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” Gwynne-Vaughan added.
Almost 367,000 refugees have sought a safe haven in Daadab, making it the world’s largest refugee settlement, according to Care International.
The aid organisation called for donations. “Refugees need urgent support. They need food and water,” Gwynne-Vaughan said, adding that Kenyans affected by the drought were also in need of emergency assistance.
Without additional funding, Gwynne-Vaughan said the food their organization was distributing from the World Food Programme, “will run dry by September.”
More than 10mn people could go hungry as a result of the worst drought in 60 years to hit the Horn of Africa, the UN has warned.
The worst-affected countries are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda as well as Kenya, which has declared the drought a national disaster.