Nairobi 22nd, August : The total number of hungry Kenyans could grow to 4.35 million by the end of October which is an increase from the current 4.1 million as the drought gets worse in several regions of Kenya an agency of the state said.According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) 23 counties mainly in the semi-arid and arid regions are struggling with a severe drought that has exacerbated hunger, water stress and malnutrition.
The worsening food situation can be caused by the fourth consecutive rainy season, as well as the effects of the Ukraine crisis and the desert locust epidemic and the Covid-19 pandemic NDMA stated in a statement issued on Sunday in Nairobi the Kenyan capital.
Hared Hassan Adan Chief Executive Officer of NDMA stated that in August alone, 97 percent of semi-arid and arid areas will be severely dry, which will expose herders as well as subsistence farmers to the ravages of malnutrition and hunger, Xinhua news agency reported.
Livestock mortalities have risen in vast swathes of Kenya’s northern frontier region due to a lack of water and pasture, he said adding that the coastal region has not been spared the ravages of drought.
According to NDMA the NDMA estimates that 884,464 children between 6 to 59 months are malnourished.115,725 pregnancies or lactating mothers have suffered from acute forms of malnutrition in the dry counties.
The decline in milk production and the rise in the price of cereals have also exacerbated the crisis of hunger in the semi-arid zone and the predicted short October-December rains could not provide relief.
To reduce the devastating negative effects of the drought in the desert outposts, the government has commenced livestock offtake and water tracking, as well as the provision of livestock food, supplements for families, and cash transfer, according to Hassan.
He said that the government with assistance from multilateral organizations and local charities has contributed approximately 10 billion shillings ($83.50 million) to improve response to drought in the affected counties.
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