IKEA Foundation gives UNHCR US$62 million for Somali refugees in Kenya
IKEA Foundation gives UNHCR US$62 million for Somali refugees in Kenya
GENEVA, August 30 (UNHCR) - The IKEA Foundation has donated US$62 million to UNHCR for the agency's expanding operation to help tens of thousands of Somali civilians at the huge Dadaab refugee complex in north-east Kenya.
"The donation, which will be staggered over three years, is the largest private donation that the UN refugee agency has received in its 60-year history, and the first time that a private body has chosen to directly support a major refugee complex," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said in Geneva on Tuesday.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, who is currently in East Africa to assess the situation for displaced Somali civilians, welcomed the donation. "This humanitarian gesture by the IKEA Foundation comes at a critical time," he said. "The crisis in the Horn of Africa continues to deepen with thousands of people fleeing Somalia every week. We are extremely grateful. Help like this can't come a moment too soon."
Edwards, speaking to journalists at Geneva's Palais des Nations, said UNHCR was working with the staff of the Foundation on the development of a detailed submission for how these funds will be used, but in the short-term the focus will be on helping up to 120,000 refugees who have recently arrived from neighbouring Somalia at Dadaab, the world's largest refugee complex. Edwards said there would be a "particular focus on refugee families and children."
The Dadaab initiative is part of a broader partnership between the IKEA Foundation and UNHCR that began a year ago and includes funding support to UNHCR's work in Bangladesh, eastern Sudan and Kenya. IKEA also provides in-kind product support to UNHCR's emergency operations in Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia as well as expertise in logistics, supply, packaging and warehousing.
Dadaab, which lies in a remote and arid region of Kenya, was first opened in the early 1990s after the onset of civil war across the border in Somalia. This year it has seen a dramatic surge in new arrivals as a result of the conflict and drought in Somalia.
Originally designed for 90,000 people it now hosts a population of approximately 440,000 refugees, 150,000 of whom have arrived in the last three months. This is putting enormous strain on those living and working there as well as host communities. Many of the newly arrived refugees are suffering malnutrition, and are in critical condition.
The IKEA Foundation donation will immediately help UNHCR expand its life-saving help for people already arrived at the camp.
"This initiative is a bold but natural extension of IKEA Foundation's long-standing commitment to making a better everyday life for children and families in need throughout the developing world," said Per Heggenes, chief executive officer of the IKEA Foundation. "Supporting UNHCR, both immediately and over the long term, is one of the most effective ways to immediately make a difference in the lives of thousands of refugee children and their families."
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, relies on donations to help millions of refugees and other displaced people around the world. Most of these donations are from governments.
