Estonia Helps to Ease Situation of Internally Displaced Persons in Kenya
18.02.2008
The Estonian Foreign Ministry is donating 800,000 kroons to ease the situation of Kenya’s internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Since the presidential election that occurred on 27 December of last year, ethnic conflicts have exploded in Kenya. Over a thousand people have died as a result of the violence, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.
“Hundreds of IDP camps have formed in the western part of Kenya, and they are in dire need of humanitarian aid and protection,” said Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. “Hundreds of thousands of Kenyans are in danger of starvation; they lack food, water and other items necessary for life,” Paet added.
According to UN data, the violence has forced up to 600,000 people to flee or leave their homes. Many internally displaced persons are without shelter, medical care is difficult to obtain, and gender-based violence is widespread.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, through which Estonia is offering assistance, made an appeal for aid for Kenyan displaced persons in January. The UNHCR deals first and foremost with meeting peoples’ basics needs in the displaced persons camps—food aid, transportation and logistics, household items, shelter, drinking water, and the creation of sanitary conditions.
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