Two weeks ago, hundreds of refugees gathered outside the U.N. compound at Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana County to protest against food shortages. Initially peaceful, the demonstration escalated into violence as protesters began throwing stones at the compound. In response, police opened fire, injuring four people while attempting to disperse the crowd.
The demonstrations erupted shortly after the World Food Programme announced a reduction in food rations, following a termination of its contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Upon taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing foreign aid for 90 days. This was quickly followed by the termination of 5,200 USAID programs — over 80% of its projects — and the dismantling of the agency, which included putting thousands of employees on administrative leave and shuttering its headquarters. These actions are expected to have severe consequences for refugees, further limiting their access to essential resources such as food.
About the author
Anthony Langat
Anthony Langat is a Kenya-based Devex Contributing Reporter whose work centers on environment, climate change, health, and security. He was part of an International Consortium of Investigative Journalism’s multi-award winning 2015 investigation which unearthed the World Bank’s complacence in the evictions of indigenous people across the world. He has five years’ experience in development and investigative reporting and has been published by Al Jazeera, Mongabay, Us News & World Report, Equal Times, News Deeply, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Devex among others.
