Dr. Jill Biden, the Second Lady of the United States, visited the IOM Refugee Transit Center in Addis Ababa. She was greeted by 70 singing refugees and IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission and Representative to the AU, ECA and IGAD Maureen Achieng.
UNHCR Representative in Ethiopia Clementine Nkweta Salami, Deputy Director of Ethiopia’s Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs Zeynu Jemal and IOM Head of Operations for Africa Lori Seymour were also present to greet the Second Lady.
Briefing Dr. Biden, Ms. Achieng highlighted the recent massive displacement of people that has increased the burden on countries hosting refugees. Ethiopia hosts some 730,000 refugees – the largest refugee population in Africa.
“Today more than ever, there is urgent need for a new approach that ensures that this burden is not disproportionately borne by countries adjacent to conflict-affected states: Ethiopia and Kenya fall into this category,” she said.
Noting that the United States has led by example over the past six decades, she said that it remains the most generous resettlement country in the industrialized world. “This fiscal year alone, the US ceiling for admissions is 85,000 refugees from around the world, nearly 35 percent from Africa and 30 percent from the Middle East and Near East. This is set to increase to 100,000 refugees in the next fiscal year,” she observed.
“Over the last 10 years, the United States has resettled 30,000 refugees from Ethiopia and will resettle approximately 27,000 refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa this year,” she said.
Dr. Biden spoke with refugees at the transit center and observed a cultural orientation class preparing refugees for life in the United States. She also spoke to IOM medical staff who provide health assessments for refugees preparing for resettlement in the United States.
This was Dr. Biden’s first visit to Ethiopia and she will also visit Malawi and Niger.
IOM has a critical role in the US Refugee Admission Program. It provides transportation for refugees from remote camps to the transit center for interviews, health assessments, cultural orientation and pre-departure medical screenings. It also arranges transportation to their final destination in the United States.
