Kenya: We Need Help to Feed 4.3mn Kenyans - Ndegwa Drought Response Team

Neil Palmer/CIAT
A livestock carcass in Marsabit, in Northern Kenya (file photo)
9 February 2023
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Sharon Resian

Nairobi Kenya — The National Steering Committee on Drought Response has appealed for additional financial donations to support 4.3 million Kenyans at risk of starvation.

The population at risk, the committee said, mostly includes people living in mostly Arid and Semi Arid Land (ASAL) counties.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa who led the committee in issuing the appeal on Thursday indicated it reached over 85,000 Kenyans during the festive season leading to 2023.

Ndegwa who chairs the committee said 130,000 lactating mothers and nearly 940,000 children are also suffering from malnutrition.

"The current dry season will revert the gains that we received from the current short rains in 2023," he said.

The committee noted data has shown the ongoing drought will last much longer than earlier projected.

Failed agricultural output

Ndegwa noted 65 percent of the agricultural output in ASALs has failed, and that the drying up of open water sources has worsened the situation of local populations.

He called for more collaborations between the government (county and national), the private sector, and Kenyan citizens to implement long-term solutions.

The committee unveiled a partnership with media houses to help disseminate information on mobilization efforts dubbed 'Wakenya Tulindane Campaign'.

"I foresee this as a healthy, collaborative partnership to make sure that all Kenyans are covered and no one sleeps hungry," he said.

Ndegwa further stated that the Committee will collaborate with the Kenya Defense Forces to rebuild and repair 192 boreholes located in over 30 counties. He said the rehabilitated boreholes will provide water to 1.7 million Kenyans.

Sh650mn raised

The committee announced that it had mobilized Sh650 million towards drought mitigation in the country since President William Ruto formed the team in November.

The funds raised by the taskforce have been used to distribute food in some of the worst hit counties including Mandera, Kitui, Kilifi and Samburu and Meru counties.

The latest National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) outlook has listed Kilifi, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu and Turkana among counties the alarm phase.

Others are Embu, Narok, Taita Taveta, Makueni, Meru, Nyeri, Lamu, Wajir, Isiolo, Kitui and Kajiado.

The worsening situation in 21 of 23 ASAL counties has been compounded by the failure of four consecutive rain seasons.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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