NAIROBI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the United Nations refugee agency on Monday called for greater solidarity and stronger global support to develop solutions that refugees need to rebuild their lives.
On his first official visit to Kenya, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih commended Kenya's key role in welcoming refugees and the government's commitment to progressive refugee policies.
He acknowledged Kenya's decades-long generosity in hosting refugees and the visionary policies that allow refugees to work and access healthcare, education, and financial services.
"Despite scarce resources, Kenya continues to show remarkable solidarity for people in need through smart policies that foster self-reliance and economic growth," Salih said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, after meeting Kenyan President William Ruto and visiting Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya.
In March 2025, Kenya launched a landmark program to improve the lives of over 800,000 refugees and asylum-seekers and their generous hosts by transitioning the country's refugee camps into integrated settlements.
The Shirika Plan is a framework to move from humanitarian assistance toward refugee self-reliance and peaceful coexistence with host communities. Refugees can access legal identity papers, work permits, mobile money and banking services, public education, and universal healthcare.
"Kakuma is a place of transformation and innovation, sending a powerful message to the world: rather than trapping refugees in aid dependency, we must urgently prioritize solutions that allow people to live in dignity and contribute to society," said Salih.
The high commissioner said the funding crisis is threatening lives and risks reversing the hard-won progress made.
"That is why I am urging development actors, international financial institutions, donors, and the private sector to step up their support for the Shirika Plan," Salih added. ■