U.N. Memo II
Update on the
situation in Kenya
Posted:
Thursday, 10 January 2008, Nairobi
While
there is considerable calm in Nairobi now and indeed the whole
country, the UN Gigiri compound remains open to essential staff
only. Instructions still remain that only those who feel safe
to report to the office should come to work.
The
situation as a whole remains volatile. The African Union
Chairman, Ghanaian President John Kufuor announced that President
Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed today to work
together with an African panel headed by former UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to end the current crisis.
There were
situations of rioting in some parts of the country on 8 January after
an announcement of the government cabinet. However,
Nairobi continues to exhibit a near total return to its pre-crisis
status.
The
humanitarian situation remains critical in the flashpoint areas of
Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza Provinces as well as in slum areas in
major Kenyan cities. As more fact finding missions report back and
more assessments become available, new pockets of people in need are
emerging.
The UN
Country Team in Kenya's Disaster Management Team continues to meet
and coordinate with the wider humanitarian community, including NGO
partners who are implementing on the ground.
Distributions
of food to 23,000 people in Turbo, some 50 km from Eldoret (Rift
Valley), were due to finish 9 January, according to the World
Food Programme (WFP).
Distribution also took place for 3,000 people at the Eldoret
Cathedral, and 3,000 people at the Eldoret showground. A convoy from
Mombasa with 670 metric tons of food has offloaded nine trucks in
Nairobi and 11 trucks in Eldoret.
World
Vision (WV)
has over the weekend distributed milk, bread, lentils and relief
supplies to displaced people from the Kibera slum in Nairobi and in
Nakuru's Afraha stadium. On Monday, its aid trucks also drove to Rift
Valley from Nairobi under military protection. WV is partnering with
the Kenya Red Cross Society to meet the immediate needs of almost
155,000 affected people in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Mombasa and
Kisumu. WV is planning a 30-day relief response followed by a
long-term development response to help families and communities to
rebuild their lives.
On 9
January, the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
also working together with the Kenya Red Cross Society, made a first
distribution of basic household commodities to some 200 displaced
families (1,200 people) who are camped at Dandora and Huruma Police
stations near the slum settlement Mathare in Nairobi. The Family Kits
contain plastic sheeting for shelter, blankets, mats, kitchen sets,
mosquito nets and soap.
UNHCR is
also preparing up to 10,000 Family Kits - enough for 50,000 people -
to be distributed to displaced people in Rift Valley Province.
Overall,
UNHCR has offered basic household commodities for up to 100,000
displaced persons. UNHCR is considering airlifting more
supplies from emergency stockpiles in Dubai or Tanzania, or explore
options for local purchase.
The UN
Country Team in Kenya, with United
Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT)
leadership, and the Government of Kenya (GoK) is working to establish
the extent of the destruction and loss of housing, land and property.
UN-HABITAT is also working to establish long term mechanisms for
sustainable resettlement. The first stage is to make an assessment of
destroyed housing and property through on the ground surveys and
satellite imagery analysis.
Meanwhile,
The United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
is extremely concerned about the psycho-social consequences for
Kenya's children who have experienced violence, temporary
displacement and fear. UNICEF, Save the Children and other
agencies will assist the Children's Department (GoK) in conducting a
series of in-depth child protection assessments in Nairobi, Nakuru
and Eldoret. These assessments are expected to gain insight into the
response to separated and lost children, the availability and
establishment of safe play and safe sleeping areas, the access of
internally displaced person (IDP) children to schools, the
participation of children and young people in recovery and the need
for psycho-social counseling. The results of these assessments will
be used to inform child protection programmes for children affected
by the crisis.
As far as
funding for ongoing assistance goes, an initial allocation of USD 7
million from the Central
Emergency Response Fund (CERF)
has been approved for UN and non-UN organizations working in Kenya.
Further allocations would be considered if the crisis continues or
deteriorates. The bulk of the cash infusion will go to traditional
areas such as food, health, water, shelter and sanitation. It will
also be used to ensure that protection facilities are in place. OCHA
is working on a consolidated inter-agency appeal which will probably
be announced early next week, when the results of various ongoing
agency assessments are available.
In neighboring Uganda
where thousands of refugees from Kenya are streaming over the
boarder, UNHCR reports the situation remains relatively stable. A
UNHCR team has been deployed to monitor the situation for displaced
Kenyans in Tororo and Busia. Some 3,400 people have so far been
registered by the Ugandan Red Cross in Busia, Malaba and Lwakhakha.
Smaller numbers of people continue to arrive through border crossings
at Busia and Malaba. Almost half of the refugees are children.
