People clean a carpet in the Old Town of Mombasa, Kenya, on Aug. 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)
Nairobi: Kenya is currently hosting an estimated 829,211 refugees and asylum seekers, up from 823,932 at the end of 2024, a senior government official said on Monday.
Kipchumba Murkomen, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that most of the refugees are from countries within the Great Lakes region and the East and Horn of Africa that are experiencing conflict, resulting in massive forced displacements.
"Kenya has taken up this responsibility not only as an obligation under the 1951 United Nations Convention but also as a response to the call of humanity," Murkomen said during a forum with foreign donors to discuss funding for refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya.
Murkomen said that the increasing number of refugees has resulted in heightened needs, including security, food, shelter, education, healthcare, and livelihood support.
The rise in the refugee population should not be a burden for Kenya alone but a collective responsibility of the international community, he said, adding that in order to enhance access to government services, Kenya is developing a database that will provide real-time refugee data for planning and managing national security.
