Somali refugees sit in a queue outside a food distribution centre at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab. Photo/the-star.co.ke]
The UN agency has said that shortage of funds will threaten the World Food Programme (WFP) operations for refugees.
WFP spokesperson for East Africa, Mr Peter Smerdon, said people in need of food aid have increased and donor countries cannot meet the demand.
Mr Smerdon said in November last year, the agency was forced to reduce food rations to 420,000 refugees in northern Kenya camps by 30 percent.
Speaking with the Daily Nation on phone, Mr Smerdon said if they don’t get more funding, a lot of people will experience a shortage of food aid in the country.
“Demand keeps on increasing on a daily basis making it hard for donor countries to satisfy. In addition to Kenya, WFP, due to insufficient funding, in November 2017 cut food rations by 30 percent for 420,000 refugees living in Dadaab and Kakuma camps. The cuts are still in place,” said the spokesperson as quoted by the Daily Nation.
Mr Smerdon called for more aid from international donors in a bid to mitigate the plight of refugees at the camps.
The agency is targeting to reach 780,000 women and children suffering from malnutrition in drought-hit areas but if it does not get more money by March, refugees in the region will see a drop in their compensation this year.