Dadaab, Kenya

Currently home to more than 450,000 refugees, Dadaab Refugee Camp faces serious ongoing security concerns, as well as regional political tensions. In this landscape clear, accurate and accessible information on humanitarian issues and services is vital.  In 2011, Internews worked with Radio Ergo/IMS, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Star FM of Kenya to conduct an in-depth assessment of the access to information and information needs of refugees living inside the Dadaab camp, which has since helped Internews to design a full scale Humanitarian Information Service project. 

With joint funding from USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Directorate (ECHO) Internews has launched the Dadaab Humanitarian Information Service (HIS) to help refugees access critical, lifesaving information and improve two-way communication between themselves and aid providers. In collaboration with local, independent Somali language radio station Star FM, Internews is working to set up a fully operational radio station in Dadaab to broadcast to local and refugee Somali communities.

Internews has trained a group of young journalists from the refugee and host communities in radio production and humanitarian reporting skills. These youth journalists are able to produce content for local broadcast and provide an important voice for their community.

• Video
  • Serious Communications Gaps at Camps for Somali Refugees are Putting Lives at Risk
  • Digital Survey Captures Refugees' Information Needs
• Report
  • Humanitarian Communications and Information Needs Assessment Among Refugees in the Camps
  • View photos from the assessment