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Inside the Dadaab Refugee Complex

August 09, 2011 | Pulitzer Center

An estimated 40,000 people arrived in Dadaab from Somalia in July, compared with about 5,000 a month last year. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The Dadaab refugee complex now houses an estimated 380,000 people, more than 4 times the number for which it was designed. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

More than 1,300 people a day are arriving in Dadaab from Somalia, often after weeks of travel on foot. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The exodus was spurred by the drought that has gripped the Horn of Africa, which has led to a famine in Somalia and severe hunger crises in Kenya. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Newly arrived Somalis at an intake center in Dadaab. Many are arriving severely malnourished, after weeks with little food or water. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The official camps have been closed since 2008. More than 70,000 people now live in the outskirts of the Dadaab refugee complex. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

There is no school and few medical services for children in the outskirts of Dadaab. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Childhood malnutrition rates in the outskirts are an estimated 30 percent, and half of those are severe. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Foreign aid can take many forms, some unintended. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

There are few basic services in the outskirts, and children are often left to fend for themselves. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Malnutrition rates for children in the outskirts are twice as high as those for children in the camps. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The outskirts are in a flood plain, and more than a third of latrines are already full, meaning next time there is rain, mass contamination and disease are a risk. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Childhood death rates are rising, and NGOs say they are overwhelmed. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Children in the outskirts of Dadaab receive few services. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Refugees who have just made the trek from Somalia, usually by foot over hundreds of kilometers, waiting to receive their first rations. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

New arrivals in the outskirts building a shelter. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The malnutrition rates for children in the outskirts of Dadaab are over 30 percent, and half of those are severe. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The wait for water in the outskirts can be seven hours, according to MSF. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Basic services are lacking for newly arrived refugees. A severely malnourished child and a mother who nearly died after giving birth. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The field hospital run by MSF has seen the number of severely malnourished children quadruple in the last six months. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

Although the camps have been around for two decades, the recent severity of the drought has drawn new attention from politicians and the media. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

USAID chief Rajiv Shah visits an intake center for new refugees in July. The U.S. has recently pledged $100 million in new funding. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The backlog to register newly arrived refugees is more than 30,000 people, and the wait time is at least one month. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

UNHCR has recently opened two new camps, and is trying to relocate 180,000 people by November. Image by Sam Loewenberg. Kenya, 2011.

The famine in Somalia that has sent a tide of refugees into the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya has recently drawn international attention, but in fact the problem has been building for years, and reached a critical point months ago. Concerns about the current drought began last year.

The “current humanitarian response is inadequate to meet emergency needs” according to an August 4 report by the U.S. government’s famine alert agency, FEWSNET, which said that famine conditions are expected to spread throughout southern Somalia in the coming month. A total of 3.7 million people are currently considered to be food insecure, and most of these are in need of “immediate, lifesaving assistance.” More than 390,000 children are estimated to be malnourished, almost half of them severely.

Samuel Loewenberg reported from the outskirts of Dadaab, where an estimated 70,000 newly arrived refugees have set up makeshift housing, as the official camps have been closed off to new arrivals since 2008 due to overcrowding.