- Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has asked President William Ruto to declare the ongoing drought affecting the north of the country a national disaster.
- According to him, the items will be distributed to the most vulnerable households targeted through community-based targeting across the 30 wards.
Image: CURTESY
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has asked President William Ruto to declare the ongoing drought affecting the north of the country a national disaster.
Governor Abdullahi, who doubles as the vice-chairperson of the Council of Governors (COG) says this will enable the government to mobilise resources as well as various stakeholders to assist affected households including water and relief food distribution as well as livestock uptake.
“This is why we are asking the President to formally declare the drought a national disaster and get every apparatus of government to prevent further loss of lives and livelihoods,” Abdullahi said.
The county boss spoke on Monday during a relief distribution exercise at the county headquarters.
The governor noted that the drought situation in the country is at an alarming stage on a worsening trend.
For instance, he reckoned that in Wajir county, the food security situation is classified as crisis phase 3 with more than 429, 300 people currently food insecure which translates to more than 50 percent of the county’s population.
“Wajir just like other parts of Northern Kenya is in need of food assistance and an estimated 15 per cent of the population is already in an emergency (IPC4),” he said.
In order to cushion food-insecure households against the biting drought and related shocks, he said the county government of Wajir has procured assorted items including 42,000 bags of sifted maize floor, 7367 cartons of vegetable cooking oil and 4000 bags of beans from the national government.
According to him, the items will be distributed to the most vulnerable households targeted through community-based targeting across the 30 wards in the six subcounties.
Echoing the words of the governor, Wajir Senator Mohamed Abbas appealed to the Head of State to declare the ravaging drought a national disaster.
Abbas also asked the government to give school fees waivers to parents from the arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) who have lost their livestock due to drought.
“We are asking the government to at least give a waiver for school fees because now kids are going to school and most of them will drop out because their parents have lost their livelihoods which is livestock,” he said.