On his first official visit as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih called for stronger global support to help refugees secure durable solutions and rebuild their lives. Speaking in Nairobi after visiting Kakuma municipality in northern Kenya, he acknowledged Kenya’s long-standing generosity in hosting refugees and praised policies that allow refugees to work, access health care, education, and financial services, despite the country’s limited resources.
Salih highlighted Kakuma as a symbol of transformation and innovation, emphasizing that refugees should not be confined to long-term aid dependency but enabled to live in dignity and contribute economically and socially. He underlined Kenya’s approach as a powerful example of solidarity through policies that promote self-reliance, inclusion, and shared growth for refugees and host communities alike.
He pointed to the Shirika Plan, led by the Government of Kenya, as a forward-looking framework that shifts the focus from humanitarian assistance to refugee self-reliance and peaceful coexistence. The plan enables refugees to obtain legal identity documents, work permits, mobile money and banking services, as well as access to public education and universal health care, laying the foundation for sustainable integration.
Kenya currently hosts more than 800,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, including around 300,000 people in Kakuma, mainly from South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Salih warned that severe funding shortfalls are undermining these efforts, with less than a quarter of UNHCR’s required budget for Kenya funded last year. As a result, refugees and host communities are facing cuts to essential services such as health care, water, education, and protection support, including services for children and survivors of gender-based violence.
Describing the funding crisis as a threat to lives and hard-won progress, Salih urged development partners, international financial institutions, donors, and the private sector to increase their support for the Shirika Plan. He stressed that inclusive and development-oriented refugee policies have the potential to transform the futures of both displaced people and the communities that host them.
During his visit to Nairobi, Salih also met President William Ruto and senior government officials, commending Kenya’s historic role in welcoming refugees and thanking the president for the government’s continued commitment to progressive refugee policies.
