KAKUMA- Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai today met the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Kakuma, who is on a tour of the region to inspect UNHCR programmes .
In the meeting held at the Sub Office in Kakuma, Governor Lomorukai thanked the High Commissioner and expressed appreciation for the work UN agencies and partners have done in Turkana, especially in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, to develop social infrastructure benefiting residents.
He briefed the High Commissioner on the drought situation facing the county and the rest of the horn of Africa and urged for support from UNHCR for ongoing emergency response initiatives.
It was an honour to meet @Refugees @FilippoGrandi in Kakuma, during his visit to the region to inspect refugee programmes in Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei settlement.
We discussed strengthening collaboration between @TurkanaCountyKE, @UNHCR_Kenya and partners pic.twitter.com/UGOKc4C8kV— Governor, Turkana County (@GvnLomorukai) October 23, 2022
“The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) levels in the county stands at 34.8 percent due to the biting drought higher than recommended WHO levels. We have appealed to the President to declare the drought a national emergency because close to 98 percent of our population is affected. I also appeal to UNHCR to increase its support and ask your partners to align programmes to suit the prevailing conditions,” Governor Lomorukai said.
The Governor informed the High Commissioner on need by the County Government for a review of agreements with development partners, to ensure programmes being implemented aligned with priorities of the county and benefits for host community were guaranteed.
“Turkana has played host to refugees for over 30 years and we will continue to support refugee operations in the county and even provide more land for expansion. However, benefits from the programmes meant for host community, including employment opportunities, have to be assured in a transparent manner,” he added.
The Governor said many programmes had been implemented in the region and insisted that impact on the ground had to match the size of investments. He called for strengthening of collaboration structures between the County Government, partner organisations and all elected leaders including area MCAs.
He also asked that partner projects be extended to other regions of Turkana as challenges faced were similar across the county.
Mr. Grandi thanked the Governor for the welcome and congratulated him on his election. He revealed that the visit was the third time he was coming to Turkana during his seven-year reign as High Commissioner.
“These visits goes to stress how important our work with you is in this region of a Kenya, as one of the countries hosting refugees. In Turkana, we are implementing one of the most innovative models of refugee support in the whole world,” he said.
Always inspiring to visit Turkana, Kenya, hosting 250,000 refugees, many from South Sudan. Kalobeyei settlement is a model of refugee self reliance and coexistence with local communities: an approach led by the authorities, with innovative partnerships between aid and business. pic.twitter.com/5pbld5q1W7
— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) October 23, 2022
He thanked the Governor and the county for continuing to host refugees and providing protection to those displaced by war in South Sudan and other countries. He said he understood that this brought a burden to the region and said the pilot integration programme was meant to ensure refugee support created opportunities for the host community.
He highlighted the IFC Kakuma- Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF) programme meant to boost private sector investment and unlock the economic potential of refugees and host community.
The High Commissioner assured the Governor on his support for drought emergency response and promised to convey message to the president on the severity of the situation.
He also committed to address the Governor’s concern on existing agreements to improve their efficiency, establish better mechanism for transparency and accountability.
Also present at the meeting was County Commissioner Wambua Muthama, UNHCR Kenya Country Representative Caroline Van Buren, Head of Kakuma Sub Office Nicholas Kaburaburyo, UNHCR Regional Director Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Ambassador Mohamed Affey and KKCF Programme Manager Luba Shara.
Governor @GvnLomorukai today met with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Kakuma,who is on a tour of the region to inspect refugee programmes in Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei settlement. pic.twitter.com/kLkkF9OHq7
— County Government of Turkana (@TurkanaCountyKE) October 23, 2022
Senior county officials present included County Executive for Public Service, Administration And Disaster Management Jeremiah Namuya, County Solicitor Ruth Emaniko, Turkana West Sub County Administrator Joshua Napoco.
MCAs at the meeting were Eliud Imoni (Kakuma), Julius Edung’ (Kalobeyei), Francis Namuya (Letea), Gilbert Topos Eweet (Lopur) and Vincent Ekipor Lobuin (Lokichoggio)
Via Governor’s Press Service.