Nairobi (Sunatimes) A team of UK officials led by Secretary of State for International Development, Adrew Mitchell, is expected to visit refugee camps in Dadaab to assess drought situation in East Africa.

In his visit to Dadaab refugee camp, Adrew Mitchel, is accompanied by the UK’s disaster emergency committee chief executive, Brendan Gormley, and his counterpart of Save the Children UK, Justin Forsyth, to evaluate humanitarian situation in Dadaab refugee camp which is a home to hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the devastating drought in Somalia and other East African countries in the region.

Earlier the UK government has pledged 52 million pounds to help drought-stricken people in East African countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, with over seventy thousand malnourished children in the drought-hit areas expected to benefit from humanitarian aid funds.

UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, Adrew Mitchell, has also applauded the Kenyan government for allowing the United Nations to open a new camp in Dadaab to receive newly arrived refugees fleeing the drought in Somalia and decongest the overwhelming refugee Camps in the area.

The ravaging drought situation in East Africa has claimed the lives of several people while others, mainly children are severely malnourished. The drought has also forced thousands of Somalis flock daily into the neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia.

By Fuad Mohamed