Extreme poverty, violent conflict and climactic hazards have forced many in eastern Africa to flee. Djibouti is host to over 30,000 refugees, representing about one-third of its population. Many of the refugees in Djibouti are children.

Despite being a place where so many refugees cross the border of their own country to seek refuge, Djibouti still suffers from challenges in development, with a high poverty rate and an infrastructure system that only exacerbates existing disease outbreaks from poor WASH resources.