Parents fleeing drought-stricken Somalia are abandoning their children at the world's largest refugee camp, Save the Childen has warned.
There are currently around 400,000 people in Dadaab in northeast Kenya, with around 1,300 more arriving every day, of which 800 are children.
Save the Childen said the number of unaccompanied children arriving from Somalia has increased four-fold and a small number of babies have been abandoned by their parents after arriving at the camps.
In July, the charity helped 80 separated and unaccompanied children who arrived at the camp from Somalia, up from a monthly average of 22 in 2010.
Dadaab is a collection of three camps; Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley, approximately 50 miles from the Kenya/Somali border.
A spokeswoman said it is not clear why the babies were left, but staff say it is likely to be as a result of the desperation felt by parents who have often walked for weeks without food, water or shelter to reach the camps.
The charity has placed record numbers of unaccompanied children with foster families in recent months.
There are reports of some children being found by the roadside and incidents of mothers fleeing the camp at night without their babies.
Prasant Naik, Save the Children's Kenya country director, said: "We can only imagine the levels of desperation driving parents to abandon tiny babies in this way.
"After walking from Somalia without food and water, it is clear that some parents feel that they cannot care for their children any more, despite having reached help.
"Meanwhile, we know that some parents are sending their children to Dadaab alone, and other families are being split up as they make the journey.
"There could be no starker indication of how dire the situation for people caught up in this crisis has become."
Save the Children is appealing for £64m for its drought response in East Africa.
The charity is working across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, providing food, water and medical care to children and their families, and protecting vulnerable children living in drought affected areas.
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