Kieni residents scramble for relief food as Kenyans in 23 counties face hunger

Residents of Kieni Constituency in Nyeri County on Friday engaged in a scramble for relief food in the latest illustration of the effects of the ongoing drought.

This comes as the Red Cross Society announced that more Kenyans could be at the risk of hunger if the anticipated rains fail yet again.

The scramble was evidence of the worrying effect of the biting drought that continues to ravage 23 ASAL counties across the country.

The distribution of the relief food targeted the elderly, however upon getting wind of the donation residents swarmed the venue demanding a share saying they are at risk of starvation.

The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) places Nyeri County among 9 other counties in the red alert drought phase, attributing this to four successive failed rain seasons. Residents in Kieni said their last good harvest was in 2019.

While dispatching relief food on Friday, Red Cross Secretary General Dr. Asha Mohammed noted that the number of those facing hunger in the country could possibly increase by the end of December this year.

“Only early this year we were speaking of 3 million people affected, but now that number stands at over 4 million. This number could rise to 4.5 million people by the end of the year given that the October, November, December rains are projected to be inadequate,” said Dr. Mohammed.

People in counties facing drought are now calling on the government to implement intervention measures that will ensure that everyone affected receives the aid provided.

Kenyans now want the government to increase the amount of relief food being sent to these areas as the reliance on relief food donations by Kenyans in areas affected by drought increases by the day.