About 50,000 people who fled clashes in Ethiopia into Kenya's Moyale area lack food, water and shelter, an assessment finds
An estimated 50,000 people had crossed from Ethiopia into Kenya's Moyale area by 29 October after violent clashes, and most of the displaced families surveyed do not have enough to eat, a rapid assessment led by the Government of Kenya and the Marsabit County Government, with support from the International Organization for Migration, UN agencies and NGOs, has found. Of 758 households surveyed, 71% said they did not have enough to eat and 80% named food as their most urgent need; 44% lacked enough drinking water and more than three-quarters had no handwashing facility. IOM and its partners are calling for urgent funding for food, shelter, clean water, sanitation and healthcare, for the displaced and for the communities hosting them.
Key points
- An estimated 50,000 people had crossed into Kenya's Moyale area by 29 October, the assessment estimates.
- 71% of surveyed households did not have enough to eat; 80% named food as their most urgent need.
- 44% lacked enough drinking water and more than three-quarters had no handwashing facility.
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- IOM and partners are calling for urgent funding for the displaced and for the host communities sheltering them.
What happened
Moyale is a border town administered across the Kenya–Ethiopia line, with Kenya's side in Marsabit County. Cross-border movement has been reported since 22 October as clashes continued on the Ethiopian side.
Most of those who fled are staying with host families whose own resources were already limited, which is why the appeal covers host communities as well as the displaced.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The assessment's estimate of about 50,000 arrivals and its survey findings on food, water, sanitation and healthcare.
What we don't know yet
- How many more people may cross while clashes continue on the Ethiopian side of Moyale.
- How much of the funding being sought has been pledged so far.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: The estimate and the survey findings are the rapid assessment's own figures, published by IOM, with Capital FM's report of the same assessment in agreement. The 50,000 is the assessment's estimate and is carried as an estimate.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Every percentage is from the assessment as published by IOM; the survey covered 758 households in temporary displacement sites and host communities in Moyale on 29–30 October.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The living arrangements are the assessment's findings as published by IOM, and the quotation is Ncube's own words in IOM's release.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The funding call is IOM's own release; the $8.9 million joint appeal and the UNHCR supply figures are UNHCR's account carried by UNifeed.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Fifty thousand people arriving in a dry border area within days, most of them children, with food already short for seven in ten families, is a fast-moving humanitarian emergency on Kenya's northern border — and its outcome now depends on how quickly the funding appeal is answered.
Background
Cross-border movements into Kenya are reported as clashes continue on the Ethiopian side of Moyale.
Kenyan authorities, with IOM, UN agencies and NGOs, survey 758 households in Moyale's displacement sites and host communities.
IOM publishes the assessment: an estimated 50,000 arrivals, with food the most urgent need, and calls for urgent funding.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published — the findings are the assessment's own, published by IOM.