By Cathy Maulidi:
The Ministry of Homeland Security’s Department of Refugees has acknowledged challenges in the management of refugees at Dzaleka camp in Dowa District.
Refugees’ Department Senior Administrative and Operations Manager Hilda Kausiwa acknowledged the challenges when Canadian High Commissioner to Malawi Adler Aristilde visited Dzaleka Refugee Camp to appreciate living standards there.
Kausiwa said, in as much as the government has remained committed to hosting refugees and asylum seekers, the operation is facing challenges that require resources to be addressed.
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Kausiwa cited congestion as one of the challenges, saying this is because the country continues to receive refugees and asylum seekers on daily basis.
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“The camp was designed to accommodate about 12,000 people but now is home to over 50,000 refugees. Even though this is the case, the camp continues to receive more refugees, who are coming into the country every day. We receive about 300 new arrivals every month,” Kausiwa said.
A high birth rate has also been cited as another challenge at the camp, with the Canadian envoy being told that 180 babies are born at the camp every month.
She said, due to overpopulation, the refugees have resorted to cutting down trees for shelter and as a source of energy, which has also caused harm to the environment.
Kausiwa also said the high population has affected access to education as school blocks are few.
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“Due to overpopulation, access to education, health and water has been affected,” she said.
Kausiwa also informed the Canadian High Commissioner that the Canadian government has suspended the student refugees programme, which is something of concern as the development has demotivated students.
On his part, Aristilde said the Malawi Government is doing its best to host the refugees despite facing the shortage of resources.
“For Canada, support towards the protection of refugees is a priority and we already do quite a bit but we will see what else we can do, in terms of the support,” he said.
At the moment, the government is implementing plans to move the refugee camp from the Central Region’s Dowa District to Chitipa as one way of addressing the problem of congestion.
