Kenya Red Cross: Over 2 million people affected by drought
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, January 27, 2026The Kenya Red Cross Society has revealed that over 2 million people in Kenya are currently affected by drought and need urgent support.
In a statement on their social media handles on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, the Kenya Red Cross said that urgent help is required to reach more communities affected by this situation.
“Drought continues to impact over 2 million people across Kenya. Kenya Red Cross, with partners, is delivering water, food and cash assistance to help families cope. Urgent support is needed to reach more communities,” Kenya Red Cross stated.
In their statement, the Kenya Red Cross has noted that there has been a deterioration in nutrition across arid counties in Kenya. Eight counties are the most affected among them: Turkana, Mandera, Wajir, Samburu, Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, West Pokot and Baringo.
Further, the Kenya Red Cross has narrowed it down to indicate that among the eight counties, the most affected are Wajir, Tana River and West Pokot counties.
According to the Red Cross statement, there are 784,000 cases of malnourished children, whereas over 300,000 homesteads have an urgent need for water.
Urgent interventions needed
The Red Cross Society is now calling for urgent interventions for safe water for drinking in these areas, suggesting borehole drilling and water trucking to get water close to the residents of the areas affected.
The provision of food and nutrition, especially for children and mothers, to reduce the cases of malnutrition would also help in reducing the adverse effects of the drought.
Further interventions needed include livelihood support and cash assistance to support the families at risk and cater to basic needs required by the families.
The Kenya Red Cross has noted the efforts they have put in place to try to fight the situation, including water source rehabilitation and system repairs, provision of food and nutrition to the affected families, as well as cash donations.
Despite the efforts, the Kenya Red Cross has not managed to fight the situation, and therefore, there is a need for the government and other non-governmental organisations to chip in and help save the situation.