Nairobi (Sunatimes) The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, has said it took delivery of the first consignment of 100,000 tonnes of emergency tents destined for Somali refugees in Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya.

An official with the UNHCR said this is the first in a series of UNHCR emergency airlift flights from Kuwait to bring aid to drought-hit Somalis in refugee camps in Dadaab in northern Kenya and Ethiopia.

According to the United Nations’ refugee agency the tents will be transported by road to Dadaab on Tuesday, and distributed to about 2,300 families that are in most need of shelter including those that will be moved to the recently opened Ifo II camp.

The agency’s head of nutrition says the state of malnutrition amongst the Somali children in refugee camps is worst, saying that if not immediately intervened, the lives of many children will be at risk.

The UN refugee agency also asked for $1billion to avert any humanitarian catastrophe in the drought-hit Horn of Africa.

By Fuad Mohamed Elmi

Source@ Sunatimes.com