• Twenty people reported dead but government denies report, says deaths cannot be directly linked to the drought.
• Senators want drought declared a national disaster, army deployed in Turkana and Baringo counties
Image: Hesborn Etyang
Governors have called for proper engagement with the national government to find a long-term solution to drought.
Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) said a long-term solution will build community resilience to climate change.
Turkana, Samburu, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Baringo, Kilifi, Tana River, West Pokot, Marsabit, Makueni and Kajiado are some of the counties affected by drought.
Twenty people are reported to have died of hunger, but the government has denied the report. It said the deaths cannot be directly linked to the drought.
Turkana, Baringo, Marsabit, Moyale, Tana River and Makueni are among the worst hit.
In a statement to newsrooms yesterday, Oparanya said counties have distributed 11,740 bags of maize, 1,500 bags of beans and 8,896 bags of rice to affected households.
Another 290,518 bales of animal feed have been bought and distributed in the affected areas and 241,938 children immunised.
On Tuesday, senators told the government to declare famine a national disaster, and the military deployed in Turkana and Baringo to save lives.
Claire Nasike, Greenpeace Africa’s Food For Life campaigner, said instead of handing out relief food, the Agriculture ministry should build resilience by putting in place effective water harvesting facilities to ensure arid and semi-arid counties have enough water to grow crops during the dry season.
“It is troubling that hundreds of thousands of people face starvation in a country with a lot of agricultural potential. It is even more atrocious that the government is still in denial, claiming that the situation is under control when deaths are being recorded,” she said.
“Even more disturbing is the fact that while many are at risk of starvation, stores in nearby counties are overflowing with food because of a standoff over purchasing prices between the government and frustrated farmers.”
The Kenya Food Security Outlook for February to September 2019 indicated that pastoral areas are expected to remain stressed from February to May.
The report released on Wednesday by the Famine Early Warning System Network stated that a number of households in Turkana, Wajir, Garissa, and Marsabit are likely to experience a crisis.
“In the remainder of the dry season, deteriorating forage and water resources are likely to drive some typical migration patterns, heightening resource-based conflict in dry season grazing areas,” the report reads.
It shows stressed outcomes are expected to prevail from June to September across the pastoral areas as forage and water resources decline seasonally.
In July, seasonal migration is expected to occur, leading to an increase in resource-based conflict and declines in milk productivity and availability.
Nasike said drought occurs every three to four years so the government should plan ahead. She said Turkana and Baringo counties have in the past experienced heavy rainfall that resulted in flash floods.
“We are calling on the Ministry of Agriculture and county governments to prioritise agriculture by supporting agricultural investments at the community level," she said.
They should also ensure that farmers are paid on time to enable them to supply produce to the National Cereal and Produce Board frequently, Nasike said.