Kenya warns of a worsening food crisis as drought escalates in arid provinces
Rebecca Miano, the cabinet secretary for the East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development Ministry, said Wednesday that the latest forecasts indicate that hunger, malnutrition and water scarcity are likely to escalate across the country this dry season.
“The drought situation remains critical in 22 of the 23 arid and semi-arid provinces after the poor rainfall from October to December when the short rainy season usually sets in,” Miano told reporters in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
Drought-induced livestock deaths had risen in the arid lands, exacerbating hunger, malnutrition and loss of income for herders, she noted, warning that delayed and poor rainfall combined with an infestation of armyworms in the fall could increase food insecurity and malnutrition. in children in the country’s arid northern outposts. .
Miano said the national government was working with decentralized units, aid agencies and the private sector to scale up a humanitarian intervention for the 4.35 million people affected by drought, Xinhua news agency reported.
Some of the interventions to help alleviate the suffering of drought-stricken communities include provision of emergency food, cash transfers, malnutrition screening and treatment, water transportation, fodder delivery and livestock reductions, she added.
She revealed that by December 2022, 14,300 households in five arid provinces had received emergency food assistance following President William Ruto’s appeal for help from the private sector and bilateral partners.
Miano highlighted the government’s commitment to building the resilience of communities in the arid regions that are already reeling from climate-induced recurrent droughts.
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