News Release

12 May 2010

INCREASED REFUGEE INFLUX FROM SOMALIA AND ERITREA: CALL FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS

ADDIS ABABA – Amid a wave of refugees from Somalia and Eritrea, the Ethiopian Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today that they need an additional US$13 million to be able to assist almost 25,000 refugees from Somalia expected to enter Ethiopia in the next few months.

This requirement is part of a global appeal launched in Geneva this morning in which UNHCR is seeking an additional US$38.4 million to ease the plight of more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) and some 575,000 Somali refugees in neighbouring Kenya, Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The 25,000 expected to come to Ethiopia would be joining another 140,000 refugees already residing in Ethiopia, more than 68,000 of whom are Somalis, some 42,000 Eritreans and 24,000 Sudanese.

Ayalew Aweke, Deputy Director of the government agency for refugees, the Administration for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) said: “With the growing number of refugees, we call upon the donor community to support us to be able to address this humanitarian crisis.’’

UNHCR Representative in Ethiopia, Mr. Moses Okello said, “The money will be used to respond to the protection and assistance needs of the additional refugees, including meeting international standards for water, shelter, health care and sanitation.” UNHCR also needs to ensure proper reception, registration and screening of new arrivals, including identifying and separating possible combatants among arriving refugees as well as better security management in the camps and settlements, he added.

“The rapid influx of refugees from Southern Somalia and Eritrea has put immense strains on the limited available food resources,” added WFP Ethiopia Deputy Country Director Lynne Miller. “Without additional resources, WFP will be obliged to start reducing food rations of refugees as of June 2010.”

The number of new arrivals from Southern Somalia which was non-existent at the beginning of 2009 reached more than 35,000 by the end of April 2010, amounting to an average increase of almost 2,300 refugees per month. Similarly, the number of Eritrean refugees has increased by more than 16,000 since January 2009, representing an average monthly increase of 1,350 people. If refugees continue arriving at the same rate as since the beginning of 2009, some 197,000 refugees will require assistance by the end of 2010.

Over the past year, the Ethiopian government and UNHCR have been forced to establish new camps for Somali and Eritrean refugees; however, some key facilities such as water shelter, healthcare and education are not yet fully developed.

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For more information please contact:

UNHCR:

Kisut Gebre Egziabher, Senior Public Information Assistant-Ethiopia, tel. +251116612822; mobile: +251911208901; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it