At least 3.1 million Kenyans in 23 counties facing food shortage - Report

Farmers in various parts of the country have been left stranded after the failed rains curtailed any harvests for them; a situation that has seen some of them state that they have been left without food.

This comes as Oxfam International released a report that paints a grim picture of the drought situation in East Africa, which has seen as many as 28 million people across the region face severe hunger.

The biting hunger in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Ethiopia brought about by the drought is worsening every day.

Just like the other 22 counties hit hard by drought, in Lamu at least 30,000 people have been affected; and most granaries are empty.

In Ntumbiri, Meru County, the situation is the same; the ground smells like burnt soil, the drought has been unforgiving.

According to Red Cross, while at least 57,000 households have received food donation and unconditional cash support, another estimated 25,000 households are in dire need of food assistance.

Annette Msabeni, the Deputy SG Programmes, Kenya Red Cross says: “Food insecurity is something that we will have to continue to deal with for at least, if we’re lucky, until June/July… but we know the reality is that we’re not going to be lucky, this will continue for a longer part of the rest of the year.”

Suada Ibrahim, Head of Partnership & Resource Mobilisation at Kenya Red Cross, on her part stated: “Water tracking is happening in some counties but still not enough, so we’re looking at partners who can support water rehabilitation works to ensure that some of the systems that had been damaged or overburdened are repaired and are able to be restored to enhance support of water.”

A report by Oxfam International reveals that East Africa faces a profoundly alarming hunger crisis indicating that areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and beyond are experiencing an unfolding full-scale catastrophe.

Kenya’s 3.1 million persons affected are just a portion of the 28 million people in East Africa facing severe hunger.

Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director, Oxfam, said: “In terms of the funding that is being asked for by the U.N it is Ksh.136 million, but at the moment it is being revised because the situation keeps evolving.”

The report further details that over 13 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have been displaced in search of water and pasture, just in the first quarter of 2022; the region having suffered from the worst plague of locusts in 70 years.

As donor partners, Red Cross, UNICEF and county governments continue providing assistance in terms of food donation, unconditional cash and medical checkups to families affected, the hunger crisis fuelled by changes in climate and COVID-19 continues to worsen by the day.