Together we can help end hunger

There have been more droughts in Africa and Asia since just after WWII, and fewer in the Americas and even Russia with more scientists continuing to suggest that climate change might increase the frequency and severity of droughts in the future. Data gleaned from the National Policy on Disaster Management (2004) lists out periods within which Kenya experienced what is described as widespread drought. The 1999/2000 drought saw approximately 4.4 million people affected, with 2004 also being described as a year that experienced widespread drought, with about 3 million people being impacted. Data presented in mid-2022 estimated that large areas of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya were under the grip of a severe drought. An estimated 16.7 million people at the time were mapped as facing acute food insecurity.

Four consecutive rainy seasons had by then failed since late 2020. This climatic event that had not been witnessed in at least 40 years resulted in a loss of soil moisture, causing waterways to dry up, and led to the death of millions of livestock. Kenya, as was the case in many other countries across the world, was still recovering from the effects of other disasters and adjusting to the import of unprecedented global events. Locally, the desert locust invasion in 2019 demonstrated the importance of having in place an operational regional early warning system that integrates climate forecasts and earth observation tools to enable coordinated early action, the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as disruptions in the global supply chain of food due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Wakenya Tulindane campaign therefore appeals to Kenyans to donate to the National Drought Mitigation Appeal Fund via the M-PESA PayBill 880990, using their name as the account number. They can also make their donations to the Fund via KCB Bank, Riverside Branch, through the Account Number 1305486137 and Account Name: National Drought Mitigation Appeal Fund.

The National Steering Committee on Disaster Response is grateful to the national government, county governments, corporates, as well as other non-state actors, such as the Kenya Red Cross, who have complemented the Committee’s efforts by streamlining team coordination, as food distribution takes place. Through the ongoing donations from Kenyans, the NSCDR and its partners (including humanitarian organizations) target to provide immediate food relief to more than 2.1 million Kenyans from 285,000 households in 32 counties.