Fighting in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East is increasing refugee numbers worldwide and undermining efforts by aid agencies to manage multiple disasters, a senior UN official said today.
Speaking in northern Kenya where thousands of Somalis are sheltering in dusty camps, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said his organisation desperately needed more funds.
"Look at what is happening in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and the Pakistan border, in Darfur, Chad, Congo and Somalia... It is really very difficult. The refugee numbers keep rising," he said.
"We made a few investments but it's not enough ... I'm trying to divert funds," said the former Portuguese prime minister, adding that he had cut 26 UNHCR international jobs to raise money.
The UNHCR says 11.4 million people were classed as refugees last year, up from 9.9 million in 2006.
Mr Guterres was visiting Dadaab ahead of World Refugee Day tomorrow to bring attention to the plight of displaced groups like the Somalis who have fled violence in their Horn of Africa homeland.
At least one million people have been uprooted in Somalia since the start of last year by fighting between Somali-Ethiopian forces and Islamist insurgents. Thousands of others have been killed.
The United Nations says 4,000 Somalis are entering Kenya each month, swelling numbers in Dadaab by 20,000 this year to 200,000. The camp also hosts refugees from Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr Guterres said there were another 110,000 Somali refugees sheltering in Yemen.
Reuters