The Irish Government is to provide an additional €1m in emergency funding for refugees in the Horn of Africa.
The increase was announced by Minister of State for Trade and Development Jan O'Sullivan and will go towards feeding and providing shelter for Somali refugees who have made their way to Kenya to escape drought and conflict.
The Government said the additional funding brought to €5.6m the total amount donated by Ireland to the region since the start of the year.
A food crisis is devastating large areas of the Horn of Africa including parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. It is estimated that over 10m people could face extreme hunger.
The Kenyan Government yesterday announced plans to spend $100m on food for victims of the drought, which has led to a shortage in maize production in the country.
There have been calls for the government there to also open another refugee camp as the Dadaab complex is said to be dangerously over-crowded.
