As the drought situation gets worse by the day, the numbers of counties under the emergency stage are expected to rise.
According to the chairman of the Isiolo county Agriculture executive Dr Lawrence Mwongela, ASAL counties are the hardest hit.
Already, Laikipia, Tana River, Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo, Mandera, Garissa, Turkana, Wajir, Samburu and Marsabit counties have slipped into alarm-stage due to the harsh weather.
This came as it emerged that due to the drought, tens of livestock had died while others were exposed to disease as they were weak.
This emerged on Tuesday during the graduation of 25 trainees who graduated in the Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology course funded by FAO and USAID.
Speaking in Lake Naivasha Resort during the ceremony, Mwongela called for more support from donors.
He said that in Isiolo, more than five per cent of cattle had died, with fears that the numbers could rise in the coming days if the harsh weather persisted.
“There are fears that over 10 counties could drop from alarm to emergency stage due to the ongoing harsh weather,” he said.
While lauding FAO for training the 25 cohorts, he said there was a rise in cases of livestock diseases, mainly in counties affected by the drought.
“This training will come in handy in assisting farmers deal with emerging and cross-boundary diseases which have left hundreds of animals weak,” he said.
FAO country representative Fasina Folorunso said the agency was working with the government in addressing the drought situation.
“FAO has various programme like cash transfer and delivery of livestock feed to affected parts of the country to prevent any livestock deaths,” he said.
On the training programme, he said a total of 75 trainees would by the end of the year benefit in capacity building to deal with the emerging disease.
The Director of Veterinary Services Dr Harry Oyas said the ongoing vaccination had helped stem the number of livestock deaths despite the ongoing drought.
“Currently the biggest challenge that we are facing is the cross-boundary diseases as livestock shift from one county to the other in search of pastures,” he said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
