ABSTRACT
In recent years the protection for refugees in Nairobi has improved. Today many refugee children can access free primary education, most refugees can access primary health care at the same costs as Kenyan nationals, and rampant police abuse and arbitrary arrest and detention has been addressed more systematically. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partners, Kenyan civil society organizations, and Kenyan government officials have achieved some of these favourable results through deploying new community-based outreach methodologies and not by substantially increasing financial resources. Stronger and more consistent commitment and will is needed to capitalize on the gains made and to further increase the protection space in Nairobi. Financial resources are of course necessary, but the case of Nairobi demonstrates that in places where there is also a large camp-based refugee population, UNHCR can help foster protection gains in urban settings without substantial additional financial resources and without a change in the national refugee policy and approach, which largely supports encampment.
