We are very concerned about reports we are receiving concerning the tense and fragile security situation in the areas affected by the recent violence in Rakhine State. Even though the situation appears calm, we are still getting reports of violence and new displacements. In the days ahead, anyone...

Embargo: 11:30 AM CET, 18 SEPTEMBER, 2012 Somalia’s Hawa Aden Mohamed wins the 2012 Nansen Refugee Award GENEVA, 18 September, 2012 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today in Geneva that this year’s Nansen Refugee Award goes to Hawa Aden Mohamed, the founder an...

President Barack Obama is set to announce the first American ambassador to Somalia since the civil war erupted more than 20 years ago, according to a US diplomat. "As a reflection both of our deepening relationship with the country and of our faith that better times are ahead, the president will ...

Aid organizations and the Ethiopian government have started a large-scale vaccination program for Somali refugee children in Ethiopian camps hoping to counteract outbreaks of disease among the malnourished population. The United Nations said it was alarmed Saturday after suspected cases of measle...

British aid agencies are preparing to expand their activities in Somalia to help some of the 10 million people at risk of starvation in East Africa. Relief operations have been constrained by the security situation in Somalia. But Islamist militant group al-Shabab last week announced it was li...

MOGADISHU, Somalia, August 18 (UNHCR) – Kadija is in shock. Over the past two weeks, the 32-year-old Somali has lost her livelihood, fled her rural home and ended up in a dismal settlement in one of the most dangerous cities on earth. "I don't have my own house and my children can't go out and pl...

On 11 August Kakuma was inundated with torrential rains which caused flooding in various parts of the camp and surrounding areas. Many refugee shelters were destroyed and dykes and river banks were severely eroded in a number of locations placing refugees and humanitarian workers at risk. A vehicl...

A mission is being organized from 24 August to 2 September to assess the key protection and displacement concerns in relation to the current drought facing the Turkana region of Kenya. The mission will assess the capacity of UNHCR and partners to respond to the protection concerns of those affected...

Planning is underway for a mission by UNHCR colleagues in early October to undertake an assessment of the environmental situation in the Turkana region of Kenya with the aim of developing a long-term strategy for mainstreaming climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into UNHCR operatio...

UNHCR, together with Ethiopian authorities and other partners is working on a response to the immediate needs of Somali refugees who arrived recently through the Gode area, 250km north-east of Dollo Ado. The refugees number more than 17,500. Priority activities are life-saving interventions such as ...