•UN country resident coordinator Siddhart Chatterjee lauded the aid, terming it timely and that it will go along way in alleviating suffering
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The United Nations has set aside Sh300 million to assist people affected by floods, mudslides and landslides as a result of the heavy rains.
A statement by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday said the funds will be channeled to humanitarian response initiatives targeting worse hit areas where lives have been lost and people displaced.
West Pokot, Makueni, Kitui, Teso South, Mandera, Turkana and Elgeyo Marakwet are among the worst affected places.
The funds will be disbursed through UN agencies operating in the country, including Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund.
The assistance follows the announcement by Russian ambassador to Kenya Dmitry Maksimychev last Friday of an Sh100 million aid to assist Kenyans with food deficiency problems.
The aid was channeled to the UN's World Food Programme.
UN Resident Coordinator for Kenya Siddharth Chatterjee said the funds “will allow humanitarian organizations to rapidly provide critical food and livelihood support, shelter and health services for the most vulnerable people in the hardest-hit areas, including children, women, the elderly, and people living with disabilities.”
The aid was announced by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock.
Chatterjee said that the relief was timely as the destruction of the farmlands by the ferocious rains have exacerbated an already worse hunger situation in the country “with 3.1 million people projected to be in crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity.”
“We are very grateful to CERF for this timely and crucial contribution and urge other donors to support the response,” he said.
Further to provision of food, shelter materials and logistics support, the statement said, the funds will be used to improve access to safe drinking water, both through repair of damaged water supplies and promotion of household water treatment and storage, as well as hygiene promotion campaigns to prevent water-borne diseases.