Right now, nearly 11 million people are facing severe food shortages or famine in East Africa. Every week, more than 10,000 refugees are arriving at Dabaab camp in northern Kenya.

Dadaab is today the biggest refugee camp in the world, hosting nearly 400,000 people. Originally designed for 90,000, the current camps are already inundated. New arrivals are having to settle outside the camps, with no sanitation facilities and little shelter.

Around 8,000 of the newest arrivals are estimated to be people with disabilities, and 8,000 more are expected by the end of 2011. Living conditions are worsening and people with disabilities are struggling to access basic services. We estimate that 7,500 of the recent arrivals are in need of immediate care, mobility aids, rehabilitation and psychological support.

Handicap International has been supporting disabled people in Dadaab camp since 1997, providing rehabilitation care, distributing assistive devices (crutches, walkers, wheelchairs) and running mobile support teams. We were able to respond quickly to the current crisis.

At the camp entrances, our teams are running vulnerability desks providing emergency aid to disabled people. We are also present at camp registration points identifying people with disabilities and others in need of immediate help. In the coming weeks we will be increasing this capacity, and setting up shelters, creating seven mobile rehabilitation units, and making transport more accessible. We are also creating community solidarity groups to support vulnerable arrivals and making other organisations in the camp aware of the needs of disabled people.

Disabled and vulnerable people need your help. Please support our appeal today.

Thank you.