Refugee population in Adi-Harush

Ethiopia is the third largest refugee hosting country in Africa,
hosting more than 210,000 Somali refugees.

Ethiopia is the third largest refugee hosting
country in Africa, hosting more than 210,000 Somali refugees.

New stage

Work in the Dollo Ado area

Dollo Ado, located in southeastern Ethiopia and close to the border with Somalia and Kenya, has the second largest concentration of refugees in Africa. Around 170,000 people are registered in the Dollo Ado refugee camps (according to UNHCR data as of May 2021). The Ethiopian government and UNHCR opened the Bokolmanyo refugee camp in 2009 and Melkadida in 2010 in response to the displacement of thousands of Somalis caused by escalating violence by Al Shabab. In 2011 an intense drought generated a new influx of migrants fleeing famine and the need to open three more camps: Kobe, Hilaweyn and Buramino. In 2017 a new escalation of violence and a historic drought triggered a new influx.

The refugee population is highly relevant to economic dynamics, and has great potential to make a significant socio-economic contribution to host communities. Especially given that most of the host communities are smaller than the refugee camps and that the largest ethnic group in the host communities is Somali. This area thus becomes a hub of interconnectedness for both refugees and host communities, who often have relatives on the other side of the borders.

We are therefore working with both populations to harness each other’s resources and improve their basic services and quality of life.

Dollo Ado, located in southeastern Ethiopia and close to the border with Somalia and Kenya, has the second largest concentration of refugees in Africa. Around 170,000 people are registered in the Dollo Ado refugee camps (according to UNHCR data as of May 2021). The Ethiopian government and UNHCR opened the Bokolmanyo refugee camp in 2009 and Melkadida in 2010 in response to the displacement of thousands of Somalis caused by escalating violence by Al Shabab. In 2011 an intense drought generated a new influx of migrants fleeing famine and the need to open three more camps: Kobe, Hilaweyn and Buramino. In 2017 a new escalation of violence and a historic drought triggered a new influx.

The refugee population is highly relevant to economic dynamics, and has great potential to make a significant socio-economic contribution to host communities. Especially given that most of the host communities are smaller than the refugee camps and that the largest ethnic group in the host communities is Somali. This area thus becomes a hub of interconnectedness for both refugees and host communities, who often have relatives on the other side of the borders.

We are therefore working with both populations to harness each other’s resources and improve their basic services and quality of life.

According to UNHCR data as of May 2021, a total of 32.262 refugees reside in Bokolmanyo, 41.854 in Melkadida, 38.365 in Kobe, 49.212 in Hilaweyn and 47.314 in Buramino, in total 209.007 in Dollo Ado. In all five camps, the gender distribution of the population is similar, with a slightly higher female presence (52%) and all camps have around 65% of children and youth. The number of families living in each camp varies between 4,000 and 7,000 and in the host communities between 1,500 and 10,000.

Many of the refugees have been living in these camps for a decade, so there is a need to address urgent needs, but also to encourage the development of opportunities.

On the other hand, Ethiopia is continuously exposed to severe droughts that affect the Horn of Africa as a whole, and can significantly affect the camps.

According to UNHCR data as of May 2021, a total of 32.262 refugees reside in Bokolmanyo, 41.854 in Melkadida, 38.365 in Kobe, 49.212 in Hilaweyn and 47.314 in Buramino, in total 209.007 in Dollo Ado. In all five camps, the gender distribution of the population is similar, with a slightly higher female presence (52%) and all camps have around 65% of children and youth. The number of families living in each camp varies between 4,000 and 7,000 and in the host communities between 1,500 and 10,000.

Many of the refugees have been living in these camps for a decade, so there is a need to address urgent needs, but also to encourage the development of opportunities.

On the other hand, Ethiopia is continuously exposed to severe droughts that affect the Horn of Africa as a whole, and can significantly affect the camps.

Alianza Shire Dollo Ado Campo refugiados (3)

ACCESS TO ENERGY

According to UNHCR estimates, the proportion of access to energy is very similar in the five camps and is around 3% of the total population.

The refugee camps in Dollo Ado are very far from the national electricity grid and connecting to it is a very complex option. Therefore, the energy sources available in the refugee camps and host communities are generators and photovoltaic systems, as well as stand-alone solar kits and solar lanterns. There is also a mini-grid managed by cooperatives.

Seventy per cent of people in the host communities use battery-powered lanterns for lighting; this percentage drops to 40 per cent in the refugee camps.

All the camps have a public lighting system installed.

On the other hand, the use of firewood for cooking is progressively causing deforestation in the peripheral areas of the camps. Women and girls, in charge of collecting firewood, have to walk longer and longer distances, exposing them to security risks.

In addition to the installation of a sustainable energy supply in communal services, we incorporate photovoltaic home systems, both in these refugee camps and in the host communities, generating local capacities in the form of micro-enterprises for their use and maintenance.