Serious communication gaps between the humanitarian sector and refugees in Dadaab, Kenya, are increasing refugee suffering and putting lives at risk, a new joint assessment report led by Internews concludes.
Dadaab, the largest refugee camp complex in the world, is home to hundreds of thousands fleeing the drought in Somalia – people who are being put further at risk because of information gaps that are hampering the aid response. “Despite important efforts from individual agencies, current communication strategies for affected communities are not working as effectively as they could, and critical coordination needs to be improved,” says the report, “Dadaab, Kenya: Humanitarian Communications and Information Needs Assessment Among Refugees in the Camps.” See also a video report.
The assessment surveyed over 600 refugees and shows that large numbers of displaced Somalis don’t have the information they need to access basic aid: More than 70 percent of newly-arrived refugees say they lack information on how to register for aid and similar numbers say they need information on how to locate missing family members.
The report finds that most communications at the camp level happen verbally through pre-established camp administration and other networks among social groups. However, the majority of those surveyed state a lack of trust in these channels, and instead prefer to communicate through, and place their trust in, radio, mobile phones and friends or family.
Radio is by far the most popular source of general information for both new arrivals and long-term refugees, yet there is no specific regular broadcast for or about Dadaab, which means only general news and information can be accessed. Critically, humanitarian workers, government officials, along with army and police, rank the lowest as sources of information for refugees, both for new arrivals and long-term residents, according to the report.