However, the Organization is asking donors for a quick response to its appeal for US$26.6 million last week so that it can carry out its essential work assisting drought and famine victims.
Since it began an operation to relocate about 15,000 Somalis from the transit centre at Dollo Ado to a new displacement camp at Halewyin last week, IOM has so far assisted well over 6,000 people.
Close to 1,000 Somalis stranded at the Kenyan-Somali border, mostly women and children in an extremely weakened state and in urgent need of transport assistance to the Dadaab refugee camp, have been similarly helped by IOM.
In both cases, IOM doctors are carrying out medical checks before the displaced embark IOM buses with primary health care being given to those in need.
With Somali famine victims continuing to arrive both in Ethiopia and Kenya on a daily basis, efforts to ease over-crowding at existing refugee-hosting facilities and minimise health risks by relocating people to new sites is critical.
IOM will, in the weeks to come, begin transporting a further 30,000 displaced Somalis currently seeking shelter on the outskirts of Dagahaley at Dadaab in Kenya to an extension currently being prepared at the site at Ifo. IOM staff have already begun clearing bush and demarcating plots for pitching the first of 7,500 tents there.
“The relocation of famine victims to areas where they can be provided the humanitarian assistance they so desperately need is an essential part of the response to this crisis,” says Jeff Labovitz, IOM’s special emergency coordinator for the Horn of Africa Crisis. “The stress on over-crowded camps, the transit facilities or on the most vulnerable unable to take a step further on their journey to seek refuge, will have tragic consequences if we cannot move them due to a lack of funds.”
IOM and UNHCR are activating the release of up to US$ 1 million from their joint Rapid Response Transportation Fund (RRTF) to cover some of the immediate transportation needs but will need to reimburse the Fund.
Meanwhile, IOM health staff are continuing to assist Somali drought and famine victims in Ethiopia and Kenya, particularly through medical checks. In coordination with government and humanitarian partners, IOM doctors at Melkadida and Kobe camps in Ethiopia are assisting government medical teams to build health capacities and carry out health assessments in an effort to fill gaps.
Elsewhere in Ethiopia, IOM is currently participating in a joint needs assessment of displaced Somalis at Gode in the south-east of the country with UN and NGO partners which will conclude shortly.
In Dadaab, Kenya, IOM preparations to help pastoralist host communities also suffering from severe drought are being finalized. Many hundreds of goats and sheep will be replaced by camels, better able to resist drought and provide milk for families.
IOM staff report that cattle are in very poor condition and cannot even be slaughtered for meat as they are too decimated.
The Organization also plans to map out both pastoralist and livestock migratory routes in the area to help provide more effective water solutions. In the meantime, water storage facilities will be provided to host communities as currently they share troughs with their livestock. During the next six months, the Organization also plans to rehabilitate or construct water pans, tanks and kiosks in the area.
For more detailed information on the IOM appeal for the Horn of Africa Crisis or to donate funds, please go to: www.iom.int
Media, please contact:
In Kenya, Lillian Matama, IOM Nairobi, Tel: + 254713601043. Email: lmatama@iom.int or John McCue, IOM Dadaab, Tel: +254722202173. Email: jmccue@iom.int
In Ethiopia, Demissew Buziwork, Tel: +251 11 661 11 71, Email: dbuziworka2@iom.int
In Geneva, Jemini Pandya, Tel: + 41 22 717 9486/+ 41 79 217 3374, Email: jpandya@iom.int or Jumbe Omari Jumbe Tel: + 41 22 717 9405/+ 41 79 812 7734 Email: jjumbe@iom.int
