The drought situation in Marsabit is getting worse and may lead to loss of life if urgent government interventions are delayed,
Marsabit Governor Ukur Yatani has said.
The Governor said the worst affected groups of people are nomadic pastoralists whose livelihoods depend on cattle.
He said the wells within the region have completely dried up.
“In the unrelenting drought, hundreds of livestock have starved due to lack of pasture and water,” said the governor.
Ukur said his government had not received any help from the National Government towards the allieviation of the situation.
He also expressed disappointment towards the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) saying the body had not responded to the situation despite them being fully aware.
"The drought in Marsabit is not a new thing, and relief food is no real solution and it is very costly, but it must be done,” Ukur said.
“We need to operate before things happen. We shouldn’t wait until people die to call it [drought] a national disaster.”
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The Governor appealed
on aid agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP), Non-Governmental Organizations and the National Government to come out and offer assistance to the people of Marsabit.
He said that the county has over the past seven months been
hiring water boozers to supply residents with water to
help curb
livestock losses.
The prolonged situation, the governor noted, has however led to the overstretching of available financial resources resulting into difficulties to sustain the program.
“We have faced a major challenge as the wells and boreholes are running out of water and the county has tried to save the situation by giving water to the nomadic pastoralists but the resources are limited,” Ukur said
Residents living within North Horr sub-county are some of the most affected, forcing some to crossover into the neighboring Ethiopia.
The Sub-county is the second largest after Marsabit North sub-county and lies within Chalbi desert.
The 2009 census puts the region's populationa at
approximately 75,000 people.
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