Nairobi 22nd August : The total number of people who are suffering from hunger in Kenyan is predicted to rise to 4.35 million by the end of October which is an increase from the current 4.1 million in the midst of a worsening drought in various regions of Kenya according to a state agency.According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) 23 counties, primarily in semi-arid and arid regions are struggling with an extreme dry spell that has led to an increase in the effects of hunger, water stress, and malnutrition, according to Xinhua news agency.
The worsening food situation can be due to the fourth consecutive rainy season and the effects of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the desert locust outbreak and the Covid-19 pandemic NDMA stated in an announcement made in Kiev on Sunday.
Hared Hassan Adan the Chief Executive Officer of NDMA Hared Hassan Adan, the NDMA’s Chief Executive Officer, said in August , alone, 95 percent of semi-arid and deserted lands will be extremely dry.This will put herders as well as subsistence farmers to the ravages of malnutrition and hunger.
Livestock mortality has increased in large swathes of Kenya’s northern frontier region due the lack of water and pasture as stated by Hassan saying that the coastal region has also been hit hard by the effects of drought.
According to NDMA the NDMA report, 884,464 infants aged from six to 59months are malnourished.115,725 expecting or lactating mothers also been suffering from acute forms of malnutrition in the dry counties.
A decrease in milk production as well as a rise in the price of cereals has also contributed to the crisis of hunger in the semi-arid region , and the predicted short October-December rains could not offer relief.
To reduce the severe negative effects of the drought in the desert outposts the government has launched livestock offtake and water tracking, as well as the provision of livestock feeds, diet supplements for families, and cash transfer, according to Hassan.
He said that the state with assistance from local and multilateral charity groups has contributed around 10 billion shillings in order to improve the response to drought in the affected counties.
