Mandera has launched an emergency relief food distribution to vulnerable hunger-stricken households as a result of famine.
Deputy Governor Mohamed Arai said the action has been taken to cushion vulnerable populations. He spoke during the launch of the drive.
Arai said the county will provide food rations, animal feed and water to cover residents from the scourge.
The first distribution phase targets 4,146 households in Mandera North, 4,428 households in Banisa, 3,063 households in Mandera West, 6,645 households in Mandera South, 4,657 households in Mandera East and 2,435 households in Laffey.
The distribution will also target registered orphanages, special schools, people living with disabilities, non-native groups in urban centres, destitute families, fire victims and internally displaced persons.
Every household will receive 12kg of rice, six kgs of maize flour and three litres of vegetable cooking oil.
In total, this will translate into 763 tonnes of food that comprise 444 tonnes of rice, 213 tonnes of maize flour and 106 tonnes of cooking oil.
"Following President Uhuru Kenyatta declaration of the drought as a national disaster, the Mandera government has taken a step to protect our vulnerable population against starvation,” he said.
According to Arai, climate change has led to perennial droughts in Mandera, hurting the livelihoods of pastoralist communities.
It has disrupted the traditional way of life for many pastoralists, pushing many people to towns with no means of livelihood.
He added that over time the number of vulnerable families in both urban and rural areas who require support during drought periods has grown, hence the need to be ready all the time to overcome this sad reality, as the rains are no longer predictable.
A rapid needs assessment by county multi-sectoral technical officers revealed that 35,481 families were in dire need of humanitarian relief support. It was led by the special programmes department and conducted from September 14 to 17 in all Mandera subcounties.
Last week during a stakeholders meeting, county commissioner Onesmus Kyatha said over 191,000 households were in dire need of food.
He said the government had done everything possible to save the situation using different interventions, including cash transfers to affected families.
Last week, the Mandera Agriculture department trained farmers in the mitigation of drought effects to ensure crops grow in case of minimal rains.
"This training is very important as it aims at educating farmers on drought mitigation, as well warning those living around River Dauwa to be cautious of floods expected during heavy rains from Ethiopia highlands," said Daniel Lolpejalai, a crop scientist and assistant director in the department.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
