Refugee camps in northern Kenya have seen a remarkable turnaround in malnutrition levels, thanks to more soap and firewood, culturally acceptable foods and more efficient cooking stoves. The reason is simple – refugees no longer have to sell their food to buy these essentials.
And the result is dramatic. In just one year, acute malnutrition rates among children under the age of 5 have dropped from 22.2 percent to under 13 percent – the lowest rate recorded since 2000. But the U.N. agencies in charge of aid delivery say the funds must keep flowing to maintain supplies and prevent a reversal. More than 230,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia and Sudan, live in the camps at Dadaab and Kakuma.
