North Rift locals in urgent need of food assistance
By Wycliffe Kipsang, September 1, 2022More than 300,000 people in the North Rift are in dire need of relief food to cushion them from hunger after failed rainy seasons.
The worst hit are Turkana, Samburu, West Pokot and Baringo counties where herders have been forced to relocate in search of pasture and water for their livestock sparking fears of conflicts for limited resources in the region.
Local leaders yesterday raised the alarm and called on the government and other humanitarian agencies to send relief food to the region.
“The situation is very dire here. The last time we received rains here was in January. Many schools are also on the verge of closure due to lack of water and food,” Tiaty MP William Kamket said.
His constituency is the worst hit with many water sources drying up.
It also emerged that a majority of residents have resorted to eating wild fruits locally known as ‘Sorich’ to survive.
Situation adversely affected voter turnout in the just-concluded election in West Pokot where many voters failed to cast their ballot, as they had moved to neighbouring Uganda to look for water and pasture for their livestock.
The government has since embarked on livestock off- take programme to reduce loss of animals as drought rages on.
Programme, which is being spearheaded by the National government and other partners including Kenya Red Cross Society and Kenya Meat Commission seeks to mitigate the effects of losses to farmers.
North Rift Red Cross Regional Manager Esther Chege said the programme will see livestock slaughtered and the meat distributed to the hunger-stricken residents.
According to Chege, West Pokot and Turkana counties will benefit from the programme in the North Rift region.
For instance, in Turkana, more than 3,000 livestock will be slaughtered and is expected to benefit more than 45,000 people.
And in West Pokot, 1,310 livestock will be slaughtered to feed 13,100 residents.
“We believe that this for us is a milestone towards mind set change and we are seeing our communities warming up to this. We know this is a drop in the ocean as we will have reached more people but this is the targeted number of people at the moment due to funding,” Chege noted.
Data from the National Drought Management Authority indicates that more than 120,000 people in Turkana and another 85,000 in West Pokot are in dire need of relief food aid.
Drought victims
Speaking to People Daily yesterday, Government Spokesman, Colonel (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna) Cyrus Oguna, three million Kenyans need humanitarian assistance, saying the situation was expected to worsen in the coming weeks. “The government is determined to ensure that no one dies of hunger and is providing emergency food aid and relief cash transfer programmes to cushion and improve livelihoods of drought victims,” Oguna stated.
Experts say the devastating drought has been caused by a dramatic shift in weather patterns blamed on climate change.
Oguna said food assistance and other humanitarian support will be scaled up in the coming months to reach a larger proportion of the affected population.
“The government is determined to ensure that no one will die of hunger due to the persistent drought since it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that drought victims receive food aid,” Oguna said.
He said the government will continue its distribution of relief food and cash transfer programs through mobile money transfer platforms to assist vulnerable people in areas hit by severe food shortages.
Oguna disclosed that the government has spent Sh680 million in food aid and cash transfer programmes and a further Sh350 million in water trucking this year alone in 23 counties affected by drought.