• FAO and WFP said this number represents an 84 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.
• 4.35 million Kenyans are currently in need of food aid.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
The number of Kenyans facing hunger is projected to reach 4.4 million between October and December 2022.
This is according to a UN outlook for October 2022 to January 2023 which indicated that 1.2 million people will be in the emergency phase and will need urgent support.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) report showed that this represents an 84 percent increase compared to the same time last year.
The UN bodies issued an early warning for urgent humanitarian action in 19 hunger hotspots countries in the world, where parts of the population will likely face a significant deterioration of already high levels of acute food insecurity, putting lives and livelihoods at risk.
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said currently, 4.35 million Kenyans are in need of food aid.
This is based on the 2022 long rain food and nutritional security assessment report. NDMA October drought early warning bulletin showed that the drought situation continues to worsen in twenty (20) of the 23 ASAL counties.
This is attributed to the four successive failed rain seasons which has led to an increase in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance from four million in August to the current 4.35 million people.
11 counties namely; Garissa, Isiolo, Kajiado, Kitui, Mandera, Marsabit, Laikipia, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana, Wajir, are in alarm drought phase while nine counties including Embu, Kilifi, Kwale, Makueni, Meru, Narok, Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi and Taita Taveta are in the alert drought phase.
The remaining three counties including Baringo, West Pokot and Lamu are in a normal drought phase.
NDMA further indicated that acute malnutrition has also been noted across the counties with 942,000 cases of children aged 6-59 months acutely malnourished and 134,000 cases of pregnant or lactating women acutely malnourished in need of treatment.
WFP said the rates of malnutrition are expected to continue worsening in 12 arid counties including Baringo, Garissa, Isiolo, Kilifi, Kitui, Kwale, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana and Wajir.
The UN outlook indicated that this is the longest drought in East Africa in over 40 years, and it is forecasted to continue in the Horn of Africa, with another failed rainy season likely.
“This will bring about an unprecedented worsening of the food crisis by the end of 2022, with up to 26 million people expected to slide into crisis or worse rise levels of food insecurity in Somalia, northern and eastern Kenya, and eastern and southern Ethiopia,” the outlook stated.
Rains in the Horn of Africa have failed for four consecutive seasons. Countries in the Horn of Africa have two rainy seasons, the October–December short rains season and the March-May long rains season.
The outlook stated that in 2020, the October–December rainy season was below average, and in 2021 both seasons were equally poor.
The 2022 March-May season brought the lowest rainfall on record for much of the region. At the same time, the region has endured extremely warm air temperatures – linked to the negative Indian Ocean Dipole.
Latest forecasts by international climate centres predict a high chance of below‑average October–December short rains, making it the fifth consecutive failed rainy season.
The report showed that Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are the most affected countries, with areas already facing an exceptionally long, multi‑season drought amplified by warmer‑than‑normal temperatures.
“In Kenya, forecasts indicate not only a more than 60 per cent chance of below‑average short rains (October–December) in eastern and northeastern regions but the possibility that these will start later than usual,” the report said.