Somali refugees are pictured at the Ifo camp in Dadaab near the Kenya-Somalia border, May 8, 2015. Kenya’s government threatened to close the Dadaab refugee camp, which with about 350,000 Somali refugees is the world’s biggest refugee camp, as a security risk /FILE
Somali refugees are pictured at the Ifo camp in Dadaab near the Kenya-Somalia border, May 8, 2015. Kenya’s government threatened to close the Dadaab refugee camp, which with about 350,000 Somali refugees is the world’s biggest refugee camp, as a security risk /FILE
The UK government has pledged Sh2.2 billion to facilitate the resettlement of Somali refugees in Kenya.
The funds have been set aside to ensure refugees who want to return home have support and livelihoods in place to ensure their safe, long-term resettlement in Somalia.
This is a boost to the ongoing resettlement plans the UK government has been implementing with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support voluntary returns. The programme has so far helped over 12,000 people return to Somalia.
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In her first address to the UN General Assembly in New York, UK Prime Minister Theresa May acknowledged the challenges of refugees and host countries and reiterated the UK’s commitment to global humanitarian assistance.
“Across the world today, there are 65 million people who have been forcibly displaced. That it is equivalent to the entire population of the United Kingdom. It is an unprecedented figure, one that has almost doubled in a decade,” she said.
She noted that UN appeals are underfunded since host countries are not receiving adequate support.