A total of 594,861 people in five Coast counties of the Coast are suffering due to severe drought in the region, the Kenya Red Cross has said.
They are residents of Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu and Taita Taveta.
According to the KRC Coast regional manager Hassan Musa, Kwale is the most affected with 198,350 people in dire need of relief food.
Kilifi has 149,000 residents affected, Tana River has 92,000 people, Lamu (80,000), and Taita Taveta (75,551).
Speaking to the Star from Garsen in Tana River, Musa said this year’s drought might be the worst recorded in recent years because the rains have failed for the last four seasons.
“As of Wednesday, we have recorded a total of 594,861 residents in five coastal counties who are facing acute hunger because of drought. If it does not rain in November and December, this will be the worst dry season for the region,” Musa said.
He said KRC has been carrying out medical outreaches, food distribution, and animal destocking programmes in the affected regions.
In terms of livestock that are at danger of dying due to the prolonged dry spell, the Coast region’s 357,310 livestock population has been affected.
Kilifi’s 233,810 animals are at the brink of death, Tana River’s 100,000 livestock heads are also affected, whereas Taita Taveta has 15,000 animals that might die due to drought.
Lamu county in the north Coast has about 4,500 heads of livestock that have been affected by the dry weather while Kwale's 3,000 is affected.
KRC in partnership with the National government has been implementing the livestock off-take and destocking programme in the region.
“With support from the Kenya Meat Commission, we have been able to buy about 800 cattle from farmers in Tana River in the ongoing destocking programme,” he said.
On Tuesday, Kwale Governor Fatma Achani said they require at least Sh217 million to effectively combat the drought situation in the region.
Kwale’s worst-hit areas are Kinango, Samburu, and Lunga-Lunga subcounties. Some parts of Msambweni and Matuga are also affected.
Achani said they require at least Sh80 million for rehabilitation of the Nyalani dam, which is slowly drying because of the dry weather.
Kwale also needs another Sh20 million for repair of boreholes and Sh110 million for the livestock off take and feeding programme.
Additionally, Achani said they further need Sh7 million for animal vaccination and treatment programmes.
In Taita Taveta, Governor Andrew Mwadime on Tuesday called upon stakeholders to join hands to help mitigate against the devastating situation in the region.
Mwadime spoke after chairing Special County Steering Committee that has been mandated to develop strategic measures to address the persistent drought.
-Edited by SKanyara
