International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Horn of Africa Drought

IRC responds to cholera outbreak in the world’s largest refugee camp

DADAAB, Kenya - 01 Dec 2011 -  

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is responding to a cholera outbreak in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp complex. The outbreak threatens more than 400,000 Somali refugees who have fled fighting, famine, and the region's worst drought in six decades.

Quoted: Bringing babies back from the brink


November 29, 2011
By The IRC
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A fearless advocate for Somali women in Dadaab


November 25, 2011
By Jane Yang

Ruth Kimaathi wearing an outfit made with fabric dyed by Somali women in a business skills training program the IRC runs in the Dadaab refugee camp.

Photo: Jane Yang/IRC
DADAAB, Kenya -
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Keeping cholera in check in the world’s largest refugee camp


November 22, 2011
By Kathleen Sands Adams

The IRC is responding to a cholera outbreak in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp. The outbreak threatens Somalis who have fled fighting and the region's worst drought in six decades.

Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
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Four months into Somalia famine, IRC addressing urgent health needs in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - 18 Nov 2011 -  
Patients wait to be treated at an IRC clinic in a tent in Mogadishu
The IRC is treating nearly 100 patients a day at its clinic in a camp in Mogadishu that shelters more than 17,000 Somalis who have been displaced by fighting and famine.  (Photo: IRC)

Famine in Somalia

Submitted by Peter.Biro on November 17, 2011 - 12:44pm
Date: 
November 17, 2011

The IRC is providing livestock, water and food to tens of thousands of people in Somalia who have fled the country’s most devastating drought and famine in 60 years.

Displaced in the desert

A displaced woman at a desert camp in Somalia's Mudug region. (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC)

The IRC brings aid and hope to victims of famine and fighting in central Somalia.
Text and Photos by Peter Biro
GALKAYO, Somalia - 17 Nov 2011 -  

Famine in Somalia

  • <p>The number of Somalis fleeing to Kenya has slowed to a trickle since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in pursuit of Al Shabab militants. As a result, thousands of people are trapped inside Somalia with few safe places to go. After fleeing their home in the south, this family found refuge in a makeshift camp in Galkayo in central Somalia.</p>
  • <p>This woman took shelter in Galkayo after fleeing clan fighting in the Mudug region. Somalia has been beset by such fighting since 1991 when the former central government was toppled by rival clan militias.</p>
  • <p>The Sa&rsquo;ad clan militia - some of their fighters are pictured here - regularly fight rival clans over access to water and other resources. This fall an outbreak of violence in Galkayo killed at least 30 people and displaced hundreds.</p>
  • <p>Somalia is awash with weapons and violence. In addition to an insurgency led by Al Shabab, one of Africa&rsquo;s most fearsome militant Islamist groups, the country is beset by widespread piracy and kidnapping.</p>
  • <p>Galkayo is an important livestock and business center. The town has seen its population grow as rudimentary camps have sprung up to house those fleeing famine and fighting. This woman fled clan fighting in Mudug.</p>
  • <p>Hamdi Hussein Hassan, 32, lost her husband and two children when a mortar shell hit her house in Mogadishu. The country&rsquo;s capital sees frequent clashes between Al Shabab and African Union peacekeeping forces. She fled to Galkayo with her surviving daughter, left paralyzed by the blast, and now lives in a small shelter made from sticks and cardboard.</p>
  • <p>The drought in Somalia and East Africa has been exacerbated by fighting and by aid workers&#39; lack of access to much of southern Somalia. Here, children fetch water at a tap installed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the village of Darssalam in central Somalia.</p>
  • <p>Women fetch water at an IRC-drilled well. The IRC is building and repairing wells, hand pumps and pipelines in Somalia&rsquo;s Mudug region, as well as training community volunteers in hygiene.</p>
  • <p>The drought has devastated livestock, a catastrophe for people who are mainly pastoralists and derive their income from animals. To prevent further losses, the IRC has built water troughs for animals and vaccinated and de-wormed some 35,000 livestock.</p>
  • <p>IRC workers de-worm goats in Do&rsquo;ol village.</p>
  • <p>Abdi Hussein Farah, 40, lost more than 100 goats in the drought. After trekking through the desert with his few remaining animals he built a shelter near the village of Do&rsquo;ol. &ldquo;I have only a few goats left now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Here, they have a better chance of survival.&rdquo;</p>
  • <p>Salado Ali Salat, 35, is one of hundreds of displaced Somalis who have received goats from the IRC.</p>
  • <p>With no end in sight to Somalia&rsquo;s civil conflict, the effects of the drought are expected to last into 2012 and beyond. &ldquo;The situation in Somalia is probably the largest catastrophe in the world at the moment,&rdquo; says Prafulla Mishra, the IRC&rsquo;s Somalia director.</p>
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The IRC is providing livestock, water and food to tens of thousands of people in Somalia who have fled the country’s most devastating drought and famine in 60 years.

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The IRC brings aid and hope to victims of famine and fighting in central Somalia

A displaced woman at a desert camp in Somalia's Mudug region.
A displaced woman at a desert camp in Somalia's Mudug region. (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC)

[[SLIDESHOW]]

Text and Photos by Peter Biro

Quoted: "Making a difference is what keeps me here"


November 16, 2011
By The IRC

International Rescue Committee nutrition nurse Sirat Aminwith Minhaj Gedi Farah, two months after the baby was treated for severe malnutrition and anemia at the IRC's hospital in Dadaab, Kenya.

Photo: Edward Macharia/IRC
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Miracle in the Desert

Submitted by lucy.carrigan on November 15, 2011 - 5:42pm
Source Title: 
Miracle in the Desert
Date: 
November 13, 2011
Source: 
ABC News
Source URL: 
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/miracle-desert-somali-boys-amazing-recovery...
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Post to IRC Press Coverage Page

ABC News' Lama Hasan on one Somali boy's amazing recovery.

Video: Miracle in the desert


November 14, 2011
By The IRC
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