UNHCR is becoming extremely concerned about the increasingly poor health state of recent Somali arrivals in Ethiopia. At the Kobe camp, in the Dollo Ado area, medical screening of new arrivals is recording severe acute malnutrition among 19 percent of children. At nearby Hilaweyn, the rate is 16 pe...

The arrival trend in October continues to show a significant increase, with a total of 4,968 Somali refugees crossing into Ethiopia over the last 12 days. This brings the average daily arrival rate to 414, which is more than twice the trend back in September. Hilaweyn has almost reached its full ...

Hundreds of Somali refugees in southern Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado region have been relocated from an overcrowded transit centre to a new camp, Bur Amino. The camp was opened on Wednesday and became the fifth one in the Dollo Ado region. The first group of some 400 refugees has been moved by bus from ...

At least one Sudanese refugee was injured and 14 others are missing following an air raid Monday in South Sudan. The U.N. refugee agency says the attack occurred in Upper Nile State where Sudanese refugees have sought refuge from violence back home. Sudanese refugees have been crossing the border...

Heavy rains have hit Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, damaging tents, flooding roads and affecting aid delivery. This comes as the refugee population in southern Ethiopia swells to more than 150,000. In recent weeks, Dollo Ado in southern Ethiopia has been receiving a weekly average of...

HITSATS, Ethiopia, June 13 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency has opened a new camp in northern Ethiopia to house the increasing number of Eritrean refugees entering the country. A total 776 Eritrean refugees have already been transferred to Hitsats Camp, which can house up to 20,000 refugees. "This...

UNHCR’s partner AHADA are busy installing 310 solar powered street lights thanks to funding from the IKEA Foundation and ECHO. CEO of the IKEA Foundation, Mr Per Heggenes checked out the lights on a recent visit to the camp. The lights are already reportedly creating a greater sense of safety and co...

In Dollo Ado, UNHCR initiated an innovative pilot project, the IDEAS BOX, a multi-media library, for Somali refugee children and youth. The project is implemented by Save the Children and Libraries without Borders, in coordination with UNHCR Innovations Unit in Geneva. Facilitated by the governmen...

In Ethiopia, the relocation of Somali refugees from the over-crowded transit centre in Dollo Ado town to the new camp at Hilaweyn saw its fourth day on Monday. Since the start of the operation on August 5th some 4,000 refugees have been moved. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) which...

In Ethiopia, a large scale effort has meanwhile been underway to address the high mortality rates among new arrivals from Somalia. Malnutrition remains the leading cause of death but the situation is being compounded by suspected measles and other diseases. Children under the age of five, already...