Djibouti
83.
With the continuing influx of refugees from Ethiopia in the early part of 1978 it became apparent that the 1978 allocation for Djibouti undor the General Programmes would not suffice, and therefore the High Commissioner's appeal in respect of humanitarian assistance in the region of the Horn of Africa included a proposed programme for Djibouti in an amount of $2,200,000. At the end of 1978 the Government estimated that the number of refugees from Ethiopia could be as high as 20,000, with some 12,500 living in camps at Dikhil and Ali Sabieh, while 3,500 others had been granted refugec status in Djibouti town. Others were staying amongst the local. population.
84. The country is very arid, and domestic food production is inadequate to the increased requirements. Thus the refugees in the two camps depend entirely on outside assistance. In 1978 relief assistance included food and other basic needs, to which WFP contributed, a project for the construction of 500 dwellings in each camp to replace tents, work on the water supply, and a prefabricated ward for tuberculosis patients in Dikhil Camp. In addition, funds were expended for the construction of primary education facilities and the provision of teaching staff and Laterials. A dispensary has been set up in each camp, and the rural health centre at Ali Sabich expanded.
85. Despite the difficulties posed by the provailing conditions, a pilot project involving irrigated gardens along river beds was established, and studios were undertaken to determine other possibilities for rural settlement.
86. For the refugees in Djibouti town, where the level of unemployment makes integration difficult, a small local settlement project was established to provide a number of skilled refugees with the opportunity to establish themselves in their craft or trade and to take other refugees as apprentices. A counselling service was established to evaluate the caseload with a view to resettlement or education in other countries. In the last quarter of 1978 some 200 refugee students were placed in education in Egypt.
87. Total UNHCR assistance for refugees in Djibouti in 1978 amounted to some $1,633,000, including contributions in kind made available by a number of governments and voluntary agencies. Of the total amount sono $988,000 were allocated from the General Programmes and some $645,300 from the Special Programmes. The Government of Djibouti established a National Office for Assistance to refugees which acts as UNHCR's operational partner. Volunteer project supervisors were provided by the French association "Volontaires du progrès", and "Médecins sans frontières" provided a team of doctors and nurses for each of the two camps,
Egypt
88. The number of refugees in Egypt increased in 1978 from 4,500 to over 5,000, mainly as a result of further arrivals from Ethiopia. Of UNHCR's expenditures in 1978 under its General Programmes, amounting to almost $226,000, local settlement assistance continued to receive the largest part, over one third of the total. Approximately the same amount was split between educational assistance at the lower secondary level and the provision of supplementary assistance. A smaller amount was used to provide assistance in resettlement to 84 persons, mostly of Ethiopian origin. Counselling activities benefited over 1,000 refugees in 1978.