Why permanent state of emergency exists in Dadaab

For the past 20 years, the civilian population of Somalia has been ravaged by armed conflicts. The drought and violence in 2011 have only aggravated an already precarious situation. Thousands of Somalis have been displaced within their country or fled to neighbouring states.

Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp was initially set up to host 90,000 people. However, during the first quarter of last year, nearly 200,000 people arrived at the site, which proved ill-equipped to support such a huge influx. Soon, that number grew close to 500,000, filling the camps beyond capacity. The majority of new arrivals suffered due to lack of water, food, and medicare.