Growing concerns for drought in Kenya

So far, human casualties are thought to be low but malnutrition rates are climbing and many thousands of animals have died. Many parents fear their children may be just days away from starving to death as milk from animals is normally a large part of children's daily diet. According to UNICEF, over 95,000 children under the age of five and pregnant and breastfeeding women in the drought-ravaged areas of northern and eastern Kenya are malnourished, with 10,000 of that number severely affected. Reports of children dropping out of school and girls entering prostitution to earn money for their families are also increasing.

Kenya's world famous wildlife has not escaped the drought and it has been reported that at least 24 elephants have either starved or been shot by poachers looking for food in the Samburu district. This is an indication of the effect the drought is having on the country as it is unusual that locals would resort to elephant meat as a means of survival. One local lady, reporting to BBC, gave an ominous warning of the links between dying animals and humans: "If the rains fail, we are all in trouble. It's not just going to be the animals dying. We'll die too, and it's not going to take long."

The Kenyan Government recently declared an overall 40 percent shortfall in national grain harvest for 2009. The most severely affected areas (as identified) include the livelihood regions of Northern Kenya, and the marginal agricultural regions of the eastern part of the country. Noel Wardick, Head of the International Department said that “the Irish Red Cross continues to monitor one of the worst droughts to affect Kenya in recent times, as we feel that if not responded to, the crisis has the potential to develop into a crisis not seen on such a scale in many years".

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has launched an appeal to assist communities in Kenya affected by the extreme drought caused by the successive failure of rains. The actions proposed under this appeal specifically target the areas worst affected by the drought and aim to assist communities with early recovery during the coming rainy season through provision of seeds to marginal agricultural communities. The appeal is targeting areas not covered by the ongoing food aid by Government of Kenya and World Food Programme (WFP). It also seeks to expand and strengthen school feeding programmes and support communities to have access to primary health care and safe water.

'We will continue to liaise very closely with our colleagues in the Kenyan Red Cross and IFRC as we monitor the worsening situation. The information on the severity of the situation is now available so we ask that the international community act and act decisively' stated Wardick.