Denmark and Kenya collaborate to overhaul conventional refugee camp design 

Many UN-operated and ostensibly temporary aid camps have snowballed into permanent communities – without any significant organisational handover to local authorities. A new Danish-Kenyan collaboration seeks to support local communities in taking back the reins.

A panorama of the Kalobeyei settlement, located just outside of Kakuma Refugee Camp, in Kenya ; The average refugee at Kakuma spends seventeen years living at the camp. Kalobeyei represents a settlement approach, as opposed to a refugee camp approach, to enable refugees to become more self-reliant in the long term. This not only reduces the burden on donors, but also gives refugees a greater sense of self-worth. Photo: UNHCR

Refugee camps have historically been designed and run as temporary solutions for acute crises – despite the fact that the humanitarian issues they purport to alleviate can go on for years or even decades.This is especially exemplified by certain camps in Kenya, where there is a protracted refugee crisis. Many UN-operated and ostensibly temporary aid […]


Gain unlimited access to all of The Copenhagen Post

Our independent reporting can only be published with support from our readers.

Monthly subscription

119

DKK/month.

(Billed once a month)

Give us a try

6 month subscription

99

DKK/month.

(Billed twice a year)

Save 120 DKK

Yearly subscription

79

DKK/month.

(Billed once a year)

Save 480 DKK

Save with a company subscription?




Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.