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June 30, 2011

Drought In Somalia Causes Mass Influx Of Climate Refugees To Kenya 
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In climate news, the aid group, Save the Children, is reporting the
massive drought in Somalia has resulted in a mass influx of climate
refugees fleeing for Kenya. The group estimates 800 Somali children
cross into Kenya every day to escape the drought. The United Nations
estimates the drought has impacted 10 million people in Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda. Mark Bowden is the United Nations
Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

Mark Bowden, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia: "My
final message is that we need to take action if we're to avert a far
larger scale of crisis. There are worrying reports from international
agencies working in south Somalia that levels of malnutrition are
increasing, possibly some rates of adult malnutrition which I think is a
very critical indicator of the levels of distress that are being faced
in the area. Unless we are able to take action now, I think that we are
likely to see not just more migration, but a level of deaths in Somalia
that takes us back almost 20 years and certainly has been unparalleled
in the recent decade."



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