UNHCR forced to scale down protection facility

A major funding shortfall has forced the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to scale down its refugee protection facility in Kenya. However, the agency on Wednesday said it was optimistic that donors would make pledges to bridge the funding shortfall for the fourth quarter of the year within the coming week. Spokesman Emmanuel Nyabera told IRIN on Wednesday the agency had begun receiving responses to its appeal to bridge the funding gap, which was threatening crucial services. "We've heard from the Dutch government, which will provide an extra US $5 million. The Norwegian and German governments also have given indications of support," Nyabera said. "By Friday we should know what the position is." Last week, UNHCR announced that a severe funding shortfall was threatening its operations worldwide. The agency said it needed at least US $80 million to enable it to maintain "minimum standards" for refugees worldwide. The funding shortfall had forced the agency to make a number of budget cuts, most of which have affected its programme in Africa, a UNHCR statement said. In Kenya, which hosts some 230,000 refugees in camps, the funding shortfall had so far forced the agency to "scale down" operations at its main accommodation facility in the capital Nairobi, Nyabera said. The facility, which UNHCR runs in collaboration with GOAL - an Irish non-governmental organisation -, acts as a safe house for some 200 refugees with special protection needs. UNHCR has been forced to transfer some 40 refugees from the centre to Dadaab and Kakuma camps in northern Kenya, although the capacity of the camps has been enhanced to ensure there is sufficient protection, Nyabera said. Earlier, news of a possible shutdown of the Nairobi facility sent panic through the refugee population who said they feared for their lives if moved elsewhere, Kenya's independent 'Daily Nation' reported on Tuesday.