Kenya Most Affected by Drought in East Africa

The worst most prolonged drought that hit East Africa left Kenya with scars hard to cover and just brush considering the amount of effort put into balancing those highly affected to avoid starvation.

Leaving a trail of a total of 4.35 million Kenyans currently affected by drought among them 960,000 children who are malnourished and in dire need of food.

According to East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano, the nine counties including Kilifi, Mandera, Marsabit, Turkana, Isiolo, Wajir, Samburu, Kitui, and Kajiado are the worst hit by the droughts ever witnessed.

Emphasizing during a presser on Wednesday, January 11 that there is a need to scale up mitigation measures that have been put in place to contain the hit by starvation as the worst drought in four decades is witnessed.

The drought impacted the people, crops, and livestock as the CS sites that 2.5 million wildlife are also affected as pasture and livestock deteriorate in Kajiado and Kwale counties.

Further adding that Garissa, Lamu, Laikipia, and Tharaka Nithi counties were in the alert situation while Baringo and West Pokot have slid from alert to warning situation.

“Kenya was the worst hit country by the drought among the East African Countries,” revealed Chief Executive Officer of the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) Hared Hassan.

Hassan moreover offered a solution for the farmers in the affected areas to sell off their cattle to government agencies including Kenya Meat Commission so as not to suffer losses in case the drought situation persists.

Lauding the Kenya Kwanza government on the vow made to ensure no life is lost as a result of the famine.

This was evident when President William Ruto rolled out various drought intervention mechanisms that include the distribution of relief food and cash transfers to the affected families.