The Ruto administration is just settling down to business and is barely one week in office but some things can't wait.
Top among these is the need to urgently address the worsening drought.
Latest update from the National Drought Management Authority shows that more Kenyans are being consumed by hunger, with the situation worsening across 20 of the 23 arid and semi-arid counties.
Laikipia, Tana River, Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo, Mandera, Garissa, Turkana, Wajir, Samburu and Marsabit counties are now in the alarm phase.
Embu, Kitui, Makueni, Meru, Narok, Nyeri, Taita Taveta, Kwale and Kilifi are in the alert phase, while Baringo, West Pokot and Lamu are in the normal drought phase.
Almost half of the country is already facing food insecurity and this might worsen.
The biting drought is attributed to failure of four consecutive rain seasons, with the October-November-December short rain season forecast showing a likelihood of the fifth season underperforming.
The campaigns might have blinded the leadership to the plight of the residents in these counties, but now that the dust has settled this must be urgently addressed.
Food aid, livestock off-take programmes and provision of food supplements to children must be expedited.
These are however just short-term measures. The government must put in place socioeconomic policies to cushion the Asal regions from the recurrent cycle of food aid.
Quote of the Day: “People don’t help much.”
William Golding
The English novelist and Nobel laureate was born on September 19, 1911
