Kenya

As the country hosting one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, Kenya hosts close to 500,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including over 255,000 from Somalia and close to 115,000 from South Sudan, some 38,000 from DRC, and 31,000 from Ethiopia. The majority of refugees are staying in Dadaab camp in the southeast, Kakuma camp in the northwest, and in Nairobi. ?

The Somali refugee population in Kenya has been slowly decreasing through a voluntary repatriation program supported by UNHCR, the government of Kenya, and the government of Somali. Some 84,000 Somali refugees have returned through the programme since 2014. However, ongoing drought and persisting insecurity have deteriorated the humanitarian situation in Somalia, resulting in movements back to Kenya. ?

The Kenyan government is reportedly planning on closing Dadaab camp, hosting over 200,000 mostly Somalian refugees, in 2019. ?Closing Dadaab could raise serious protection concerns if refugees are forced to return home.