Members of the delegation stand together during the launch of the Alliance for Inclusive Refugee Response in Kenya, which took place in the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement on 27 May 2024. © UNHCR/Charity Nzomo
Today, the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen and representatives from three major Danish foundations, joined UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Kakuma refugee camp, Turkana County, to launch a new collaboration with the Kenyan authorities that represents a major step towards refugee inclusion.
The new Alliance for Inclusive Refugee Response is between the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Grundfos Foundation and the LEGO Foundation. The initiative will run for three years and amounts to more than US$ 70 million, which supports the Government of Kenya’s ambitions to move toward a more inclusive refugee management policy.
Under the Alliance, UNHCR will receive US$ 7 million from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure systems level inclusion of refugees in national health and education services, as well as strengthened service delivery of health and education in Kakuma – benefitting both refugee and host communities. UNHCR is also supported with US$ 9 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Grundfos Foundation. This funding will further strengthen access to inclusive and sustainable health services and clean and safe water, sanitation and hygiene, thereby enhancing the self-reliance of refugees. As part of the partnership, a larger and more skilled health workforce will be built, for example by enabling refugee and host community students from Kakuma to enroll at the Kenya Medical Training Center.
Speaking at the launch event at the Future Primary School in the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, UNHCR’s Representative in Kenya, Caroline Van Buren, stressed the importance of the unique partnership. “In the current context of global forced displacement, these transformative approaches, beyond the existing traditional care and maintenance model, are critical to ensuring protection and asylum space for refugees and supporting hosting countries and communities. Public-private partnerships, like the Danish Alliance, are vital. They focus on refugee inclusion and leveraging refugees’ potential to contribute to local economic growth.”
Recognising the progressive policies in Kenya, she further added that “the Kenyan Government’s pioneering approach to refugee inclusion is making steady progress. With the crucial support from donors like Denmark, will support the transition from humanitarian assistance toward socio-economic inclusion of refugees and sustainable development”.
The Danish Alliance
The collaboration between the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the three philanthropic foundations will focus on creating more sustainable solutions for refugees in Turkana by integrating them better in the host community. The three foundations contribute funding and expertise in vital sectors: health, water and education, with the ambition to support services inside and outside the camps. The Alliance’s activities will be based on local authorities’ development plans to ensure alignment with their vision.
The Alliance comes at a time of change in Kenya. In 2021, Kenya passed a progressive law that provides for integration of refugees into Kenyan society. The Kenyan government is currently moving forward with the Shirika Plan, a sustainable model for refugee management which moves toward the socio-economic inclusion of refugees into host communities, where schools and health clinics are eventually operated by the local municipality instead of the UN or NGOs.
“The inclusive refugee response program is a vision for a greater future for refugees, asylum seekers, and the host communities in Kenya. This three-year pilot initiative aims to provide comprehensive support in key areas such as health, water, and education.” Speaking during the launch, Mr. Jashon Awour, Deputy Commissioner, Department for Refugee Services.
Note to Editors
Kenya is the fifth-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa with over 770,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers—a number expected to rise to 800,000 by 2025, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Most live in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya’s northwestern Turkana County and in Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa County, near the Somali border.
The Kakuma refugee camp, established in 1992, is home to more than 285,000 refugees and asylum seekers from over 20 countries—mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda. The influx is driven by conflict, persecution, and the effects of climate change.
UNHCR is Denmark’s largest humanitarian partner in funding terms, and Denmark was UNHCR’s 8th largest government donor in 2023, providing almost USD 100 million. In addition to specific contributions such as those for Kenya, Denmark is also one of UNHCR’s most important partners for unearmarked funding, which allows us to respond globally to new emergencies and forgotten crises.
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