Meru among counties severely affected by drought

The situation is so dire that the county hit national headlines last week in a case where one person died and scores others hospitalised after consuming the meat of a dead camel.  

The once rich agricultural region that relied on miraa farming has been hard hit by drought after the rains failed for three consecutive seasons, turning a once lush countryside into a desert.

Kinisa, Ngitana, Kamwerine villages in Igembe North Constituency are among the six constituencies hardest hit by the prevailing drought and hunger and what is left is now a barren land, laid bare by effects of a perennial drought that has persisted for 3 years now. 

Miraa trees have completely dried up, as Joshua Kobia, one of the residents who Citizen TV caught up with, explained.

“My miraa trees have dried up, I have nothing left at home because I have sold all my goats and chicken,” said Kobia.

According to the residents, this is the worst drought they have witnessed since 1984. 

Their animals have died and women are forced to trek for over 10km daily in search of water, and even then, there is no guarantee that they will return home with any. 

Parents in the area are worried that if nothing is done urgently to address the situation, their children may drop out of school. 

Stakeholders also want the government to address the situation that has seen many children drop out of school due to the hunger crisis.

The ongoing drought, the worst to hit the country in 40 years, has affected 23 counties out of which 10 are in the alarm drought phase.  Kenya is among the three countries in the Horn of Africa facing severe drought in decades occasioned by the below average rainfall going into its fifth season.

The government is set to convene a meeting Monday, which brings together actors from national and devolved units to harmonise intervention measures.