- The governor said the county has reached an alarm phase of drought.
- The last time the county received adequate rainfall was December 2019.
Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
The food security situation in Wajir county is critical with 193,316 people currently being food insecure, Governor Ahmed Mukhtar has said.
The governor said the county has reached an alarm phase of drought characterised by cumulative failure of successive short and long rains leading to depletion of pasture, drying of water pans and dams and consequently increasing stress on existing boreholes.
Speaking on Saturday at the County Information, Communication and Technology Hall while receiving a delegation from the state department of ASALs and the United Nations, Mukhtar revealed that preliminary findings of the 2021 Long Rains Assessment show that the food security situation in the county is critical.
According to meteorological department records, the last time the county received adequate rainfall was December 2019 leading to a long dry spell thereby causing humanitarian challenges.
Welcoming State Department of Arid and Semi Arid lands PS Micah Powon and UResident coordinator Kenya Dr Stephen Jackson while launching a flash appeal on the drought response, Mukhtar further disclosed that the number of those who are food insecure is set to rise to 250,000 given a forecasted poor performance of the 2021 short rains season.
The governor said there were reported cases endemic livestock diseases such as contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia, peste des petit ruminants , sheep and goat pox, tick paralysis, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia , foot and mouth disease, worms infestation, trypanosomiasis and opportunistic diseases.
"Cases of livestock diseases are expected to increase as livestock congregate at common grazing and watering points during the dry season," he said.
He also noted that livestock prices have rapidly reduced due to weakening livestock body conditions thus affecting households' access to disposable income and food.
"Consequently, the number of households requiring emergency food assistance and support from government safety nets keeps increasing daily as the situation further deteriorates,'' Mukhtar said.
While appreciating President Uhuru Kenyatta's declaration of the drought as a national disaster and unveiling of funds for mitigation through the Ministry of Public Service and Special programmes, the governor noted the initiative had also given impetus to development partners to direct their emergency resources to fight the biting drought.
Organisations implementing various drought interventions in the county include Interior ministry, Public Service and Special Programmes ministry, UN agencies particularly World Food Programme, UNICEF, Food and Agriculture Organisation, IOM and other non-governmental organisations such as Save the Children, Islamic Relief Kenya, World Vision, Kenya Red Cross Society among others.
-Edited by SKanyara