Kenya, Dadaab: in the hell of the largest refugee camp in the world, among other things, cholera and measles are fought

ROME – In the Hagadera camp, one of five managed by theUN agency for refugees, within the gigantic agglomeration of tents and shacks of Dadaab, the threat of cholera has arrived. At least three refugees have already lost their lives while 504 are being treated for acute dehydration. In the nearby Kakuma camp, on the other hand, people are dealing with measles. The doctors and nurses of the International Red Cross (IRC) are trying to make effective an awareness campaign on hygiene measures to be taken to prevent the spread of diseases, disinfecting the houses and tents of hospitalized patients with a chlorine solution, in an attempt to extinguish the outbreaks.

The precarious living conditions of the refugee camp. In Dadaab – about 100km from the Somali border – unfortunately there is a serious problem of overcrowding and the infrastructure is so precarious that it is difficult to keep up with the growing population, explains Mohamed El Montassir, director of the IRC in Kenya. The bathrooms are not enough, they are few and will always be fewer considering the growing number of inhabitants. People are often forced to organize themselves outdoors, but the faeces become a viaticum for the spread of diseases, especially when a flood arrives and the field becomes flooded.

Cholera affects children. Children are currently the most affected by the disease, also because many of them already suffer from malnutrition and are therefore more vulnerable. The IRC recorded a 147 percent increase in cases of malnutrition between August and November 2022. Cholera causes vomiting and acute diarrhea that can be fatal if not treated promptly. Furthermore, it is spread through polluted water and contaminated food, which in a crowded and dirty place like Dadaab are unfortunately two difficult problems to solve.

The Somali crisis. In the new report “Emergency Watchlist” that every year the International Red Cross compiled to identify which countries are most at risk of humanitarian crises, Somalia is in first place for the first time ever. Over two hundred thousand people in the country are suffering the consequences of a conflict that manifests itself on different levels and this number will triple by November 2023. First of all, Somalis struggle with food insecurity: every day there are people who die due to lack of food or due to contaminated food and, as always, the most exposed are children. Then there is the problem of drought. Somalia is experiencing the fifth consecutive season without rain and forecasts announce that 2023 will also be dry. Decades of conflict have eroded the ability of the Cordoba country to react to problems and the extreme precariousness of domestic production has made it dependent on cereals imported from Russia and Ukraine.

South Sudan. In the report “Emergency Watchlist” according to the IRC, South Sudan, from which the other large portion of refugees populating Dadaab comes, is in seventh place. Also in this slice of Africa the biggest problem is food insecurity. South Sudan is still suffering from the indirect effects of the civil war, despite the peace agreement being signed in 2018. The two main parties to the conflict are the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the Movement of liberation of the Sudanese people in opposition led by Riek Machar. The clashes between the two factions are contained at the national level, but at the local and small community level they are continuous and affect the economy and the daily life of millions of people. “Things in Sudan are going very badly – a thirty-year-old woman tells the IRC – there isn’t a single year that could be described as good. Even if someone cultivates and the crops grow, something always comes along and destroys everything”. 95 percent of state revenue in South Sudan comes from oil exports, but production has steadily declined since 2013. Furthermore, the local pound lost sixty percent of its value between mid-2021 and October 2022, reducing the country’s purchasing power.

What is the Emergency Watchlist report. It is about the evaluation that International Red Cross makes it one of the 20 countries most at risk of new humanitarian emergencies each year. Over the past decade, this report has helped the IRC determine where to focus emergency preparedness efforts in the 20 countries it surveyed. This collection of nations provides a unique lens for understanding the global humanitarian situation. Unimaginable, unprecedented levels of need are concentrated within the small number of these countries included in the Watchlists. Together they are home to just 13% of the world’s population and account for just 1.6% of global GDP. Yet they account for 90% of people in humanitarian distress, 81% of people globally who are forcibly displaced, 80% of people suffering from severe food insecurity and 89% of conflict-related civilian deaths . The basic idea is that if we can understand what is happening in these 20 countries and what to do about it, we can better intervene and reduce the extent of human suffering in the world.