State to distribute relief food to 180,000 starving Kwale residents

At least 180,000 people are on the verge of starvation in Kwale county, the National Drought Management Authority has said. 

According to NDMA county coordinator Roman Shera some parts of Kinango, Samburu and Lunga-Lunga subcounties did not receive enough rain. 

He said Samburu-Chengoni, Mackinnon, Mwavumbo, Kasemeni, Puma, Ndavaya, Mwereni and Vanga wards are the hardest hit.

"As other parts of the county received good rains in March to May, the mentioned wards experienced a prolonged drought," he said.

Shera said many of the water sources are drying up in the affected areas as severe hunger soars.

He said despite having various earth dams done by the county, none has sufficient water to cater to the rising demand for the commodity. 

The coordinator said the situation has worsened farming and livestock keeping since farms are left bare.

He, however, said the dams have played a crucial role in harnessing hunger saying it could have been worse without them.

"The rains were very little, they couldn't support the growth of vegetation but luckily we had a few dams," he said.

He said farmers who attempted to grow crops incurred huge losses due to the failed rainfall.

Shera warned that it could be the worst drought if the problem continues.

Last year, Kwale was also among the counties in Kenya that faced severe drought.

More than 200,000 people were affected with thousands of livestock reported dead.

Speaking in an interview, Shera, however, said interventions are underway to distribute relief food for both animals and human beings.

"The national and county government in partnership with the private organisations are planning to provide assistance to cushion residents from the ravaging drought," he said.

Shera said the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, World Food Programme and World Vision have vowed to help with food and other assistance to curb the situation.

He said about 5,000 bags of livestock food are also expected to be released by FAO to prevent animal loss in the affected areas.

Shera said the livestock will be provided with treatment in Samburu-Kwale, Kinango and Lunga-Lunga.

The coordinator said the county government has promised to distribute water and enhance water projects for long-lasting solutions.

Shera said they have also launched a programme of improving livestock breeds.

He said both county and national governments are introducing farmers to drought and disease-resistant animals for better farming and curbing losses.

On Monday, Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani through her Facebook page said the county is deliberating on coming up with an amicable solution to the drought problem which has wreaked havoc for many years.

Achani joined fellow governors at Harambee House in a meeting chaired by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, to discuss the drought situation in the 29 affected arid and semi-arid counties.

The governor explained that they expect to receive food support from the national government.

"Already relief food is being dispatched to 10 counties which are adversely affected. We expect other counties to start receiving this support later in the week," she said.

On Monday President William Ruto flagged off 50 trucks of relief food to the 23 hard-hit counties.

The distribution is part of the government's efforts to mitigate the effects of drought as 3.5 million Kenyans are facing acute hunger.

(Edited by Tabnacha O)