UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to travel to Kenya

(New York: 6 February 2008): John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, is scheduled to arrive in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday 8 February 2008 for a three-day mission, on behalf of the Secretary-General, to assess the humanitarian situation in Kenya.

While in Kenya, he will meet with representatives of the Government of Kenya and with opposition leaders, members of the United Nations country team and other aid agencies, as well as representatives of the donor and diplomatic community. He will also travel to the Rift Valley to survey the areas where most of the recent fighting took place and to speak with people who have been displaced or otherwise affected by the violence. He will also visit an IDP camp near Nairobi. He is scheduled to leave Nairobi on 10 February.

There will be a photo opportunity upon Mr. Holmes' arrival on Friday 8 February and a press conference at the conclusion of his mission on Sunday 10 February. For more information on press opportunities, please contact:

Jens Laerke, OCHA-Nairobi +254 20 762 2119 ; +254 7 22 513 503 (mobile) laerke@un.org

Christina Bennett, OCHA-New York +1 917 367 8059; +1 917 435 8617 (mobile) bennett1@un.org