Kilifi county is in need of urgent relief food to feed more than 219,000 people in the region affected by hunger.
Also reports indicate that more than 20,000 livestock have also died as a result of the drought and there are fears that the situation could worsen in the next one month if it does not rain.
Kenya Red Cross Society Manager in charge of Kilifi County Cornel Ndombi said the drought situation was worsening each day and the number of that urgently requiring relief food has gone up.
In an interview, he said the only thing that would give hope is when it rains though there were predictions that it would rain in the second week of April.
Ndombi said The Situation is bad and is getting worse each day with animals dying at an alarming rate because of a lack of pasture and water.
So far water in the pans he said has begun to dry up and the water levels in seasonal rivers have gone down and are drying.
“As Kenya Red Cross we have partnered with our partners including chiefs, and our donors IFRC gave out relief food to over 500 families in Magarini Bungale location which is a small number compared to those who need relief food,” he said.
The county manager said Magarini alone there are over 40,000 people who urgently require relief food which is over 6800 families.
He said the entire Kilifi has been affected but Ganze is leading followed by Kaloleni, Magarini, Rabai, Malindi, Kilifi South, and Kilifi North.
He said every part of the county has been affected by the drought and there is an urgent need for intervention to prevent more disasters.
“So far food is required followed by water, during such a time Gender-based Violence and malnutrition cases are high so the intervention required to address such issues like GBV and sensitization against malnutrition,” he said.
Ndombi said if it does not rain in the next one month the hunger situation will go up, GBV cases, and water shortage will rise.
Countrywide there are more than 3.1 million Kenyans who have been affected by the drought disaster and urgently require relief support.
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