Nairobi, 7th March 2023…The National Steering Committee on Drought Response distributed food worth KSh 150 million to over 320,000 people representing 53,400 families in Kajiado, Isiolo, Samburu, Mandera, Kitui, Kilifi, Wajir, Marsabit, and Turkana counties.
The Committee will distribute food hampers in the 9 counties as part of its short term strategy in an effort to mitigate the ongoing drought. The committee recently announced it had raised KSh 650 million from Kenyans as part of drought response efforts.
“We are reaching out to some of the hardest hit communities with food hampers as part of our immediate plan measures as the Committee. We have other plans such as rehabilitation of boreholes in most of the ASAL counties that will seek to create greater sustainability in dealing with the drought, as we collaborate with the government and other stakeholders for longer term measures that will alleviate this drought crisis,” said Peter Ndegwa, Chair, National Steering Committee on Drought Response.
The latest data from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) shows that 6 million Kenyans from 32 counties are food insecure with the persisting drought set to continue due to depressed rainfall. At least 970,000 children and 142,000 pregnant women are malnourished with urgent life saving interventions needed. The number of malnourished children has risen from 884,000 children, as at July, 2022.
The latest data from NDMA also shows that in Turkana, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa counties, at least 55% of the population are in crisis. The report also shows that over 2.6 million heads of livestock have died as a result of the drought. Water availability has been suppressed with 60% of open water sources drying up and most permanent rivers recording below 40% of normal flow.
The latest food distribution by the Steering Committee is a follow up to the one carried out in December last year where at least 85,000 people received food donations in Samburu, Meru, Kitui, Kilifi, and Marsabit.
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