Kenya’s raging drought is set to last until June of this year after another failed short rains season.
According to Venant Ndighila, the Kenya Red Cross’s Emergency Preparedness and Response manager, the number of drought casualties has been increasing and is projected to continue increasing.
“The drought is affecting 29 counties with 23 of them being in semi-arid areas. We have 4.3 million victims dependent on relief aid but the numbers are increasing every month,” he said.
He noted that the failed short rains that generally occur between October and December gave Kenyans, especially the government and relief agencies, false optimism, and that because January and February are dry seasons, big rains may begin in March, with the first harvest occurring in May.
“We are seeing a likelihood of the effects to continue and maybe deteriorate even further since the October, November, December rains failed. The January and February period are normally dry seasons in the country, and we expect those affected to continue being in need until we get substantial rain in March and our support will continue until May and June next year,” he added.
His sentiments are echoed by the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for East African Community Rebecca Miano who said that most parts of the country had not harvested any crop in five seasons.
We have had bad rains and I think this is the fifth season for failed rains and so this is not normal but effects of climate change.
“The government has reserved some funds to procure food and do cash transfers but this is not the last thing we are doing,” she said.
She added that the Drought Response Committee together with the National Drought Management Authority has been tasked to come up with long term measures.
His thoughts are shared by Rebecca Miano, Cabinet Secretary (CS) for the East African Community, who stated that most sections of the nation have not gathered any produce in five seasons.
We’ve had lousy rains, and I believe this is the sixth season of failing rains, so this is not typical and is the result of climate change.
“The government has set aside some monies to purchase food and provide financial transfers, but this is not the end of what we are doing,” she explained.
She also stated that the Drought Response Committee, in collaboration with the National Drought Management Authority, has been entrusted with developing long-term solutions.
The CS led the Pamoja Tuungane Initiative food distribution exercise in Bamba area where she was joined by the Safaricom Foundation and MPESA Foundation teams led by Safaricom Foundation Trustee Gladys Wambugu that have mobilized Sh. 51 million to distribute food to at least 4,000 families in various counties.
Mrs Kahonzi Said, a victim of drought from Adu village in Magarini Sub County has asked the government to provide water by digging boreholes for them as a way to mitigate against drought.
“We are grateful for the relief food we have received and we need more. When it comes to feeding, one can even eat once in a day or even go to bed hungry for days. Water is a problem and we cover longer distances to get water and we want the government to provide watering points for us,” she said.
At the same time, the Kilifi County government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with World Vision Kenya that will see the organization invest in water harvesting in the drier parts of the County.
Governor Gideon Mung’aro said that pulling up resources and streamlining projects will help reduce duplication where the county government invests where another agency has already invested.
“We shall collaborate with World Vision to ensure we provide water to people in the villages,” he said.
The World Vision Kenya country director Gilbert Kamanga said that the agency has an annual budget of Sh. 480 million for Kilifi County alone and it operates in 37 counties.
“Our annual investment in this county is Sh. 480 million which if you project that into the next three and four years is a significant contribution that is why we want to work together with your government,” he said.
