4.35M Kenyans in urgent need of food assistance

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya's East Africa Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) Cabinet secretary on Wednesday warned that the drought is intensifying and over 4 million people need food aid.

Rebecca Miano said in a news conference that 22 of 23 ASAL counties are still experiencing critical drought conditions.

“The period during which short rains are expected ended up posting poor rainfall right across most of the ASALs, this marked the fifth consecutive failed rain season,” she said, adding that at least 4.35 million Kenyans require immediate food assistance according to updated figures.

The ministry “is closely monitoring the drought situation," she noted, saying: "We are coordinating a multi-agency assessment to ascertain the impact of the 2023 short-rains season on food security. This will inform the scale of intervention.”

In most of the afflicted areas in Kenya, there have also been significant incidences of child malnutrition reported, according to the ministry.

According to research by the state-owned National Disaster Management Authority, an extra 1.6 million students have a high risk of dropping out of school if the hunger crisis worsens this year.

She observed that due to the extensive travel required to get water and pasture, goats and cattle in the impacted areas range in condition from fair to poor.

Communities in the Horn of Africa, particularly those in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, are in the fifth straight dry season as they brace for the worst drought in decades. Over 36 million people in the three countries are impacted.