CERF has allocated $8.4 million in Kenya

18 July 2010: $8.4 million is being provided by the CERF to address the humanitarian consequences of severe drought in northern, eastern and south-eastern parts of Kenya. Some three million Kenyans are estimated to have been affected by extremely low rainfall, with reports of drastic increases in malnutrition levels and reduced availability of safe water. Fragile health systems have been overwhelmed, and disease outbreaks are putting vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women at major risk.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been provided with $3.8 million to launch an emergency health campaign and emergency nutrition support for vulnerable children and pregnant women. The CERF is also enabling UNICEF to provide safe water, as well as sanitation and hygiene support, for more than 250,000 people. $2.1 million has been allocated to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and $400,000 to International Organization for Migration (IOM) to strengthen food security by protecting critical livestock and distributing seeds.

About $3.1 million has also been made available from the CERF to provide humanitarian assistance for refugees arriving at three refugee camps in Dadaab in north-eastern Kenya. More than 200,000 refugees have arrived at the camps over the past four years, mainly from drought-stricken areas of Somalia. The camps have nearly doubled in size during this time and have become severely overcrowded.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has received $2.1 million to provide basic health services, emergency food and tents for the most vulnerable new arrivals.

Updated on 20 July 2011