At least FCFA 14 billion is needed to arrest the looming crisis in Dabaab Refugee Camp.

Humanitarian organizations working in the Dabaab Refugee Camp in Kenya near the Somali border say they are running out of funds, thereby putting tens of thousands of lives at risk. The BBC quoted the eight agencies, including Oxfam and Save the Children, as saying they were facing a funding shortfall of at least 25 million dollars (about FCFA 14.1 billion), but that the need was now greater than ever.

According to the aid agencies, many refugees are still in tents that are quickly destroyed in the harsh climate. They say 30,000 new shelters are needed, but that funding is available for only 4,000. Also at risk is the provision of water supplies and sanitation for some 50,000 refugees, leaving them exposed to cholera, officials said.

The head of the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Antonio Guterres described the situation in drought-hit Somalia as the worst humanitarian disaster in the world after meeting with those affected at the Dadaab Refugee Camp, Aljazeera Television said. Located in northeast Kenya, Dabaab is the world's largest refugee camp and is overflowing with tens of thousands of refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Antonio Guterres therefore appealed for what he described as massive support from the international community for the estimated 500,000 residents of the camp after the Sunday July 8 visit.

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, KBC said last year, tens of thousands of Somalis flooded the camp to flee poverty and violence at home. According to Stephen Vaughan, head of CARE Kenya, people who had fled terrible suffering are not getting the care they need. According to doctors in Dadaab, most of the children have severe cases of malnutrition and related complications such as anaemia. The children are presenting with skin complications where their skin is peeling off mainly due to deficiency in micro-nutrients, Dr Milhia Abdul Kader said.

The UNHCR chief is on a tour of the region in order to highlight the plight of those affected by the drought. The World Food Programme estimates that more than 10 million people are already in need of humanitarian aid in the Horn of Africa, with the UN Children's Fund estimating that at least two million children are suffering from malnourishment.