Kenya: Cholera outbreak in refugee camp

  1. Posted on Wednesday 16 November 2011 - 11:12
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    Alex Kiare, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
    A least one person has been confirmed dead following an outbreak of Cholera in the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, situated in the Northern part of Kenya. Scores of others are being treated for the same. The United nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) said the highly contagious disease might have been brought into the camp by the new arrival refugees, who have been fleeing famine and war in their country.
    kenya map
    The agency did not release the number of the hospitalised, although the statement indicated that the number was above thirty, and could rise. The outbreak of Cholera has been blamed on the current heavy rains that have been pounding the area for the past three weeks.

    The situation has been compounded by the decision by various humanitarian organisations operating in the camp to scale down their operations for security reasons. This was prompted by the kidnapping of two Spanish aid workers attached to the international relief agency Medicins Sans Frontiers almost a month ago.

    The Kidnappings have been blamed on the Somali terror group, al-Shabab and its sympathisers. The current military operation by Kenya, in pursuit of al-Shabab, has also created tension in the entire area thus prompting the aid agencies to limit the movement of their staff within the camp in fear of retaliatory attacks from al-Shabab. This has left the refugees vulnerable to water born diseases.

    Dadaab Refugee Camp is currently the world's largest camp, with an estimated number of refugees being set at 500,000. 99 percent of refugees are Somali, while the rest are from various countries including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Sudan, among others. But the number continues to rise as more refugees continue to arrive on daily basis.

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