The United Nations (UN) refugee agency said on Tuesday it has stepped up aid efforts across the Horn of Africa, tripling aid distributions in Somalia, reaching over 180,000 people.

UNHCR said distributions of emergency assistance packages, which include shelter materials and other aid items, have been continuing in Mogadishu and southern Somalia.

Despite these deliveries, the agency said there are still many needs in the makeshift settlements in southern and central Somalia that accommodate many of the country's estimated 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs). "Displaced Somalis tell our staff that the current weather conditions of scorching sun, strong winds and intermittent heavy rains are difficult to endure, despite plastic sheets having been provided for shelter," it said in a statement received here.

In addition to shelter, people also need food, access to clean water and medical facilities, it said. "To meet the existing needs, a further 20,000 emergency assistance packages are being loaded at our emergency warehouse in Dubai onto a ship which is scheduled to sail this coming Thursday (August 25th) and dock in Mogadishu port on September 10th for distribution across southern Somalia," it said.

The agency has since early July assisted some 180,000 people displaced by drought, famine or conflict. "In Kenya, we continue to relocate refugees from the outskirts of the three camps that make the Dadaab refugee complex (Ifo, Dagahaley and Hagadera). Refugees are being transported by bus to the new sites," it said.

The UN refugee agency said it has moved more than 18,000 refugees to the Ifo3 part of the Ifo extension. Relocation of refugees to the Ifo2 area, which began on Aug.18, is ongoing. "So far 3,800 refugees have been moved to this site. On Aug.19, we also began moving refugees from the outskirts of the Hagadera camp to the Kambioos site," the statement said.

UNHCR said it had moved more than 1,100 refugees to this site, which has capacity for up to 120,000 people, adding that the three Dadaab camps currently host an estimated 440,000 refugees. On average around 1,200 refugees arrive from Somalia every day.

In Ethiopia, UNHCR has deployed an emergency team to the Gode area, some 250 km north of the refugee camps at Dollo Ado. "In coordination with the Ethiopian authorities, UN agencies, and NGOs, we are responding to an estimated new influx of some 18, 000 new refugees from Somalia, Our team includes experts in health, nutrition, protection, field coordination, and registration," it said. "Their task is to profile and register the newly arrived refugees, identify needs and deliver aid. We will also help transport those refugees who are willing to be relocated to the existing camps in Dollo Ado."

To meet the needs of this new group, the UN agency said it will be airlifting in aid for up to 20,000 people from stocks in Dubai.

"These are basic aid items, blankets, plastic sheeting, jerry cans, kitchen sets, sleeping mats, buckets and mosquito nets, and they are expected to arrive in Addis Ababa by the end of the week from where they will be immediately dispatched to Gode. Some 3,000 tents, supplied locally, are also being rushed to the area," it said.

According to UN, while the food crisis in the Horn of Africa was triggered by drought, conflict and high food prices, the underlying cause for the region's vulnerability to such shocks was inadequate investment in agriculture and insufficient management of natural resources.

UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO) said that poor sanitation, shortages of clean water, overcrowding and high malnutrition rates had left people vulnerable to infectious diseases such as cholera and pneumonia, the two agencies said in a joint press release.

UNHCR said a mass immunization campaign was conducted last week for children between the ages of six months and 15 years. It will take 10-14 days for the vaccine to be effective and thus for the mortality rates to become lower. "Together with UNICEF, UNHCR has just completed a second mass measles campaign in the Melkadida camp. Polio vaccination and screening for malnutrition were carried out at the same time for children. We have also been decentralizing nutrition services, and increasing our community outreach and active case-finding work," it said.

About 75 percent of all cases of acute watery diarrhoea are children under the age of five. Cholera cases have been confirmed in the regions of Banadir, where Mogadishu is situated, Bay, Mudug and Lower Shabelle.

Some 4,272 cases of acute watery diarrhoea and cholera have been reported in Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu alone since January.

"A priority for us remains the need to save lives among this badly weakened population. Ensuring that new arrivals get food, water and medical attention is critically important," UNHCR said.

It noted that several NGOs with field presences in the area are already making limited interventions in the areas of health, nutrition, and provision of water, adding that UNHCR will provide additional support where necessary. "We remain concerned about the persistently high mortality rate at the Kobe camp in southeast Ethiopia, which has a population of 25,000 people. A major cause of death is suspected measles. The high prevalence of acute malnutrition, combined with poor hygiene practices, is compounding the problem."

Partners in the health and water and sanitation clusters are preparing for a potential 100,000 cholera cases.

Emergency diarrhoea disease kits containing medical supplies such as syringes, infusions and oral rehydration fluids, already pre-positioned by UNICEF and WHO, have been sent to 13 hospitals.