- Breastfeeding and expectant women, children and the elderly are the hardest hit
- Nominated MCA Darare Gonche urged the government to mobilise resources and assist the residents
Leaders and stakeholders have appealed for food aid for residents facing starvation in North Horr constituency in Marsabit county.
More than 36,00 residents are experiencing an acute food shortage following a prolonged drought that has lasted five consecutive seasons.
They spoke during a subcounty steering group meeting in Kalacha township.
The meeting, which consisted of national and county government officials and NGOs, described the situation as dire.
They called for urgent intervention measures to avoid loss of lives.
Pastoralist Community Initiative Development Assistance CEO Patrick Katelo said the residents have also lost more than 80 per cent of their livestock to the severe drought.
Some were killed by floods and rainstorms that hit the region two weeks ago.
“Malnutrition levels have increased because residents do not have any source of food or income,”Katelo said.
Breastfeeding and expectant women, children and the elderly are the hardest hit.
Nominated MCA Darare Gonche urged the government to mobilise resources and assist the residents.
She decried the bad state of roads, cut off by the recent rains that have made health facilities inaccessible to pregnant mothers.
Marsabit North deputy county commissioner Pius Njeru said plans to provide relief supplies are underway.
He said the drought situation has been made worse by the floods and the outbreak of rift valley fever.
Njeru urged non-state actors to reallocate resources to famine mitigation.
The DCC said the government has a livestock restocking programme to help pastoralist communities to regain their source of livelihood.
“The seed money for the restocking plan has been allocated and the beneficiaries will soon be bought small stock like sheep and goats to help them get back on their feet,” he said.
A spot check by KNA in villages revealed a sorry state of affairs, with many of hunger victims saying they had stayed for days without food.
At Chille village in Kalacha division, 87-year-old Daracha Roba, said he has never witnessed the current weather phenomenon in his entire life.
He appealed for food aid from the government and well-wishers.
Roba said he is only left with three goats and two camels out of 200goats and 50 camels he had.
“The drought claimed my entire livestock herd of goats and camels save for three goats and two camels,” the father of six said.
“I sold one goat when children came back for holiday to buy food but the money is hardly enough because food prices are very high.”
KNA could not locate a single cereal dealer in the transit town, which is also the division headquarters.
Stocks in shops were also low as shopkeepers are no longer replenishing food items because the low purchasing power.
Image: KNA