Robinson to visit crisis-hit region

FORMER president Mary Robinson will fly out to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa today to see first-hand the crisis affecting more than 10 million people.

The worst drought in 60 years has led to massive population displacement, with the largest refugee camp in one part of Kenya now home to at least 360,000, far more than its original 90,000 capacity.

Ms Robinson, a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, will accompany senior personnel from Oxfam, Concern and Trocaire as they visit affected areas in northern and north-eastern Kenya.

Jim Clarkin, Oxfam’s chief executive, said the field visit would take three days.

Huge areas of war-torn Somalia are the worst affected by the effects of the drought, but huge numbers of people in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti have also been affected by the growing crisis.

The UN has made its first aid delivery to victims in areas of Somalia controlled by militants linked to al-Qaeda. That has only been possible since al-Shabab lifted a ban on aid.

“The numbers are pretty staggering,” Mr Clarkin said. “There are an estimated 750,000 people that have migrated out of Somalia and they are considered to be the lucky ones, even though the stories are horrific.”

He said the unstable political situation in Somalia had exacerbated problems caused by the drought.

Mr Clarkin noted that the international early warning systems had flagged the likely problems in the Horn of Africa months ago but the international response from many donor countries had been slow.

He added that the next harvest due in August would be key in determining how this crisis might develop.