Oxfam International has warned that more than 1.6 million Kenyans are facing starvation and are in need of food.
Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Horn of Africa Lydia Zigomo, in a statement, called for a swift action on the devastating food crisis.
“We cannot wait until images of malnourished people and dead animals fill our television screens. We need to act now to avert disaster,” said Lydia.
The international agency is calling on government to support the aid effort, which is currently just over a third funded, making it difficult to help all those who need it and prevent an even greater humanitarian crisis.
“We learned from the collective failures of the 2011 famine that we must respond swiftly and decisively to save lives. But the international commitment to ensure that it never happens again is turning to complacency,” said Lydia.
“Once again, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are bearing the brunt,” she said.
A report from Kenya Food Security Steering Group also shows that the overall nutrition situation especially in the pastoral counties is expected to deteriorate, owing to expected worsening of food security situation, water and sanitation practices.
KFSSG estimated that 1.6 million people are in crisis and in need of humanitarian assistance, and the number is expected to reach over two million.
According to the State Department of Agriculture and the various county Departments of Agriculture, crop across the country was affected by the delayed, poorly distributed and cumulative below average March to May long rains.
More than 15 million people across the Horn of Africa are in need of aid.
Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia are among the countries suffering increasingly erratic weather linked to climate change.
