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Influx of Refugees Straining Facilities at Kenyan Camps, Agencies Say
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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: KENYA REFUGEE CAMPS CONGESTION (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Influx of Refugees Straining Facilities at Kenyan Camps, Agencies Say
TEASER: Humanitarian groups warn that conditions in the Dadaab refugee camps pose dangerous health risks
PUBLISHED: 06/27/2023 AT 12:20PM
BYLINE: Juma Majanga
DATELINE: Dadaab Refugee Camps, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Juma Majanga
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Ide
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 3:03
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) Fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia, refugees have been pouring into the Dadaab refugee camps in neighboring Kenya. Humanitarian agencies say the influx of people has strained services in the already overcrowded camps and are warning of health risks. Juma Majanga reports from the Dadaab camps.
((NARRATOR))
At a temporary resettlement for yet-to-be-registered refugees in Dagahaley, one of the five camps that make up the Dadaab complex, Shanqaro Abukar and her family are still reeling from the effects of a cholera outbreak.
In November, Abukar lost a child to cholera after she and four of her children had come down with the disease. Last month, the mother of eleven was again taken ill with the disease, together with four of her children.
((Radio Track: Speaking with visible anger, Abukar says if the children are alive today, it is only because they are surviving on milk and water. And sometimes, she says, they don’t even have that. They are living with a lot of problems, she says, and she feels so much pain as a mother not being able to help her children with anything. She says only God can take away her pain, since they don’t have anyone to help them.))
((Shanqaro Abukar, Somali Refugee (Somali, 20 secs)))
“If the children are alive today, it is only because they are surviving on milk and water. Sometimes we don’t even have that. We are living with a lot of problems. I have so much pain as a mother not being able to help my children with anything. It is only God who can take away my pain since we don’t have anyone to help us.”
((Radio Track: Hassan Ibrahim is Abukar’s husband.))
((Hassan Ibrahim, Somali Refugee (Somali, 22 secs))
"We have a lot of challenges here, the main one being a lack of sanitation facilities. We don’t have latrines. All refugees in this settlement share one latrine. That is leading to poor hygiene conditions, exposing us to communicable diseases like cholera and others."
((Radio Track: Ibrahim says that they face a lot of challenges in the temporary settlement, the main one being a lack of sanitation facilities. He says all refugees in the settlement share one latrine, and that is leading to poor hygiene conditions and exposing the refugees to communicable diseases like cholera and others.))
((NARRATOR))
Humanitarian agencies say the influx of refugees has put pressure on the provision of services in the already overcrowded camps and warn of dangerous health conditions in the camps.
((Radio Track: Dr. Nitya Udayraj is the medical coordinator at Doctors Without Borders))
((Dr. Nitya Udayraj, Doctors Without Borders (English, 27 secs))
“You know, we’ve had a lot of rains. So, the rains have kind of added to the flooding in the camps. And because this cholera is continuing and it is dire. If we don’t do anything, we have the risk of cholera becoming endemic."
((NARRATOR))
The Kenyan government acknowledges the challenges resulting from the increase in numbers but says there is no cause for alarm as it is working on an integrated service provision approach to address the challenges. Such an approach involves a central database containing information about the refugees, their locations and their needs.
((Radio Track: John Burugu is the Commissioner for Refugee Affairs in Kenya.))
((John Burugu, Kenya Commissioner for Refugee Affairs (English, 22 secs))
“The issue of finances, resources is always a challenge, and that is why the development partners come in. But more importantly, even them, they are also experiencing the fatigue. No wonder the shift that the government is doing through Ushirika plan, which has an integrated approach of service provision."
((NARRATOR))
More than 135,000 new refugees have crossed over from Somalia into the Kenyan Dadaab complex since late last year.
As stakeholders grapple with the effects, refugees like Abukar hope their living conditions can improve soon.
((Juma Majanga, for VOA News, Dadaab Refugee Camps, Kenya.))
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