UNHCR Kenya Factsheet: 01 - 31 August 2019
1,454 new arrivals were registered in August; 1,064 in urban areas, 385 in Kakuma and 5 in Dadaab.
84,572 Somalis have been assisted to return to Somalia under the voluntary repatriation programme since 2014, of these 1,726 in 2019. In addition, 735 Burundians have been assisted to return home since the beginning of 2018.
By end of July 2019, there were 212,936 (44%) refugees in Dadaab, 191,500 (40%) and in Kakuma & Kalobeyei Settlement, 74,758 (16%) in urban areas.
Working with Partners
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The Dadaab refugee operations are coordinated by UNHCR Sub-Office Dadaab, which also serves the three camps in Dadaab Sub-County. UNHCR Field Office Alinjugur is part of the larger Dadaab operation and covers Hagadera camp in Fafi Sub-County. Both UNHCR offices cooperate closely with NGOs and other international organizations including WFP, UNICEF and IOM. The main government counterparts are the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Office and Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS).
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NGOs and other international organizations including WFP, UNICEF and IOM. The main government counterparts are the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Office and Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS).
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UNHCR continues to work closely with the Government of Kenya, the Turkana County Government through the Office of the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), the Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS) and partners to ensure support to refugees and asylum seekers. Monthly Inter-Agency meetings chaired by UNHCR and RAS continue to be held including monthly meetings with refugee representatives in the camp.
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UNHCR continued to hold a joint protection desk with Kenya Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS) at the refugee-processing centre in Shauri Moyo, Nairobi.
Main Activities
Operational Highlights
-The Refugee Bill 2019 was gazetted through the Kenya Gazette Supplement No 126 (National Assembly Bills No 62). This is the first key step in reintroducing the Bill in Parliament following the President’s failure to assent into law Refugee Act 2017. The Bill will be tabled for the first reading as a Government Bill when Parliament resumes from recess in the month of September.
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UNHCR Global Goodwill Ambassador (GWA) Kristin Davis undertook a mission in Kenya in August. She visited the MADE51 project site at Karen Village and also visited Dadaab refugee camp where she interacted with refugees. Mercy Masika, UNHCR national GWA and Pinky Ghelani, a UNHCR high level influencer accompanied Kristin to the MADE51 project site.
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UNHCR and World Food Programme (WFP) hosted a visit by the US Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Amb. Kyle McCarter. The Ambassador visited US funded activities and interacted with refugees in Kakuma and Kalobeyei.
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A refugee athlete who is one of the RIO Olympians, Rose Nathike was facilitated through support from AAR Japan to participate in the TICAD 7 event held in Tokyo, Japan. She gave a key note speech of her biography and advocated for refugee assistance by the global states in a symposium which was a side event to the TICAD 7.
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80 youth drawn from the refugee and host community took part in Turkana West Youth Conference that was organised by the Government of Kenya, UNHCR, Unicef and partners. The conference sought to engage and capture refugee and host community youth’s views on opportunities and barriers around postprimary Education access, and retention and quality skills training opportunities.
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A profiling exercise was conducted as part of the preparation for relocation of non-Somalis from Dadaab. 1,240 non-Somali households comprising 5,833 individuals have been profiled out of 1,799 households comprising of 7,758 Individuals. So far, the exercise has covered 71% of the targeted population (8,265).
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The 2019 Kenya Population & Housing Census was conducted in camps peacefully and without any major issues.