• Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa says the number of those needing relief assistance could increase to 2,366,500 if the October-December short rains are below normal.
• Other counties are Mandera, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, Samburu, Makueni, Lamu, Isiolo and Laikipia.
Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Turkana, Garissa, Wajir and Marsabit counties are bearing the brunt of the ongoing drought in northern Kenya.
A drought situation report released by the Kenya Red Cross on Tuesday showed 12 counties in the arid and semi-arid lands were already in the alert phase of the dry spell.
They include Marsabit, Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, Samburu, Makueni, Lamu, Isiolo and Laikipia.
The report showed that two million people in 23 ASAL counties are in dire need of food assistance.
This is a 40 per cent increase from the 1.4 million people that were in need of food aid in February.
Devolution and ASALs Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa on Friday said 2.14 million people in the arid and semi-arid counties needed relief assistance.
He said the number could increase to 2,366,500 if the October-December short rains are below normal.
“The poor rainfall has also resulted in reduced forage and water for livestock and poor crop harvest especially at the Coast and lower Eastern regions,” Eugene said.
The report says the food and nutrition situation is worsening. The situation was attributed mainly to the poor performance of the October-November-December 2020 and the March-April- May 2021 rainfall seasons.
"Both seasons were characterised by late onsets, below-average cumulative quantities and poor distribution both in time and space," Red Cross said.
"The worsening drought conditions have contributed to poor vegetation, increased distances to water sites in 78 per cent of ASAL counties, worsening livestock body conditions and reduced milk production in nine per cent of the counties."
The Kenya Projected Food Security Outcomes for June-September 2021 showed that malnutrition among under-fives is also on the increase.
"The nutrition situation will not improve with the coming short rains. Malnutrition levels remain high in the ASAL counties due to stock-outs of nutrition commodities, worsened by morbidity and multiple shocks.
"This is also due to low consumption of milk at the household level, depleting stocks at household level and because prices of food supplies are erratic,"the report notes.
Last month, a multi-stakeholder team led by the National Drought Management Authority undertook an assessment of the drought and food security situation in the country.
The 2021 Long Rains Food Security Assessment was carried out across 23 ASAL counties to establish the impacts of the long rains on food security at the household level.
Eugene said the government commenced cash transfers worth Sh558 million as of Monday through the Hunger Safety Net Programme.
“This money will be paid through Equity Bank Limited to over 100,000 beneficiaries under the regular cash transfer portfolio from Wajir, Mandera, Turkana and Marsabit counties. This is expected to cushion the vulnerable households from drought effects,” the CS said.
Development of ASALs PS Micah Powon said over the last 10 years, the Hunger Safety Net Programme operating in the four counties of Turkana, Marsabit, Wajir and Mandera has served 101,800 families under the routine cash transfer portfolio and delivered 36 regular payrolls amounting to Sh17 billion.
“As a result, the programme has been able to protect assets and livelihoods, provide dignity and prevent loss of lives to the vulnerable households.
"In the pioneer counties of Marsabit, Turkana, Mandera and Wajir, the HSNP beneficiary targeting has now entered its penultimate stage with community-based validation. Work has started in the expansion counties,” Powon said.
Other ongoing interventions by national and county governments and other actors include the provision of relief food, cash transfers, water-related interventions, health and nutrition and livestock disease control. NDMA said this however needs to be scaled up to address the deteriorating situation.
NDMA board chairman Raphael Nzomo said the cash transfers have contributed significantly to the financial well-being of vulnerable families.
In 2017, NDMA was tasked with spearheading re-registration and targeting of beneficiaries under a harmonised methodology.
“The authority has completed re-registration in the pioneer counties of Wajir, Marsabit, Turkana and Mandera. The task ahead now is on registration, targeting and beneficiary quota allocations in the expansion counties.
"We, therefore, need to work together as implementors to ensure that the rationale of sharing limited beneficiary numbers within and across counties is understood and appreciated by all stakeholders,” Nzomo said.
Edited by P.O