By Jacob Onuha Nelson
Refugees in various Camp across Kenya have staged a protest against the new system of differentiated food assistance rations introduced by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other UN Agencies.
Speaking to No. 1 Citizen Newspaper on Monday, Lino Unyango, a resident of Kalobeyei, confirmed that demonstrations are ongoing across Kalobeyei and Kakuma camps. He stated the protests stem from the food assistance categorization, which refugees fear will severely impact their lives.
According to Unyango, the new system categorizes refugees into four tiers. Category one, designated for the most vulnerable, will receive 1,060 Kenyan Shillings (Ksh) per family member. Those in category two will be assisted with 530 Ksh per family member.
“Category three and category four are people with sources of income and do not depend on UNHCR and World Food Program [WFP] for any assistance,” Unyango explained.
Unyango further linked the demonstration to the “Shirika Plan,” a Kenyan government initiative aimed at integrating South Sudanese refugees into Kenyan society. He stated that refugees now believe those integrated into Kenyan citizenship will have their food rations cut entirely.
He added that a consultative meeting between UNHCR, WFP, and beneficiaries was held last September, before the introduction of the four-category ration card system, to discuss the various food ration categories.
UN agencies have attributed the food ration cuts to funding shortages from the United States of America and other donors, which is affecting most projects supporting refugees.
Unyango called for greater sensitization of refugees, so they can understand the reasons behind such decisions, especially as many are already struggling with little or no food. He described the current situation across many refugee camps in Kenya as dire, with many refugees in desperate need of food.
“Life is not easy here; some people are now planning how they can go back home because others have gone about a month without food rations,” he noted.