UN refugee agency says 10 killed by cholera at camp in Kenya

An outbreak of cholera in Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp in northeastern Kenya on the border with Somalia has claimed ten lives, the UN refugee agency said on Wednesday.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said more than 1,000 people have been affected by the cholera outbreak since mid-November in 2015.

"As of December 31, the outbreak has affected over 1,000 people and resulted into the loss of life for ten refugees," the UNHCR said in its Bi-Weekly report released in Nairobi.

The cholera epidemic has affected 16 counties in Kenya since December 2014. It was officially declared in Dadaab in November last year.

Dadaab has been through the rainy season, this time experiencing El Nino heavy rains during November and December in 2015.

The report comes as malnutrition continues to threaten the lives of thousands of children across Somalia and the situation is aggravated by constrained humanitarian access in southern and central regions of the country.

Based on the latest nutrition assessments, there are 38,000 severely malnourished children in need of lifesaving therapeutic assistance.

The UN refugee agency said the refugee leaders, WASH and health committees and community at large have been actively engaged in these efforts and working alongside agencies in mitigating and controlling cholera.

The UNHCR said promoting hygiene and public awareness campaigns are the main parts of the broader response to mitigate the effects of rains and control further spread of the outbreak in camps.

UNHCR and its partner agencies have been carrying out soap distribution, houses and latrine disinfection and hygiene promotion campaign across all the five camps. Endit