Counties in North Eastern are set to benefit from a Sh10 billion project that has been launched by the government to assist communities that have hosted refugees for years.
Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa said the Sh10 billion Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (KDRDIP) which was launched on Thursday will benefit refugee-hosting communities.
Dadaab, Fafi, and Lagdera in Garissa County, Wajir South in Wajir County and Turkana West in Turkana County will benefit from the five-year project.
Wamalwa said counties in North Eastern have experienced increased poverty, competition for resources such as water and pasture due to the presence of refugees for the past 26 years.
The environmental destruction by the refugees has left the host community vulnerable as many trees around the camps have been cut down for food and fuel which has left the land bare and susceptible to soil erosion.
Speaking at Almond Hotel during the launch, Wamalwa said through the project, the host communities will be able to receive access to basic services, expansion of economic opportunities and enhancement of environmental management.
“We hope to improve self-reliance among refugee-hosting communities, social cohesion between refugees and host communities, increase the voices and roles of citizens in decision making regarding development.”
“The project will also contribute to achieving the government BIG FOUR agenda of growing the manufacturing sector, enhancing universal health care, providing affordable housing and improving food security,” Wamalwa said as quoted by kbc.co.ke.