The drought situation in the country is on the rise. As an estimated 2.1 million Kenyans face starvation in half the country due to poor rains between March and May. The crisis combined with Covid-19 is quite dire predicted to get worse by the end of the year as rainfall between October and December are expected to be below normal levels.
As poverty is the main source of food insecurity the country is headed straight for disaster, as the most affected areas are usually the poverty-stricken regions. Just last week President Uhuru Kenyatta declared a national disaster.
Asha Mohammed, secretary general of the Kenya Red Cross, said most of the affected counties had already had to deal with desert locust invasions, flash floods and tribal conflicts driven by diminishing resources.She said it was not only farmers who had been affected by the drought, but also people in urban areas who had been forced to pay higher prices for the little available food. “There is some food reaching the urban areas within these counties but there is little purchasing power because many have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic,” she said
In Baisa village about 40km from Tsavo East National Park, villagers are lamenting as a woman loses two children to a hyena that attacked and killed her two year old, son and her year-old daughter. The woman vowing to rather die of hunger with her remaining two children than leaving them alone is not the only one. A sixty-five-year-old man and four villagers who rain to his aid were also attacked. The ongoing drought has pushed wild animals particularly hyenas and elephants to attack near villages.
wildlife menace. Many children are at home as parents do not want to send them to school on empty stomachs. The food shortages for the animals and humans alike resulting in starving populations are some of the effects of the ravaging drought in some parts of the country.
The British high commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott called for climate action to take drought in Kenya. Urging the local community to embrace conservation more during her visit to Isiolo. Just this month treasury released 2bn to combat the drought situation in the North. As of the moment, people living in drought strike areas are struggling for survival others getting lucky to receive donations and assistance from well-wishers a clear indication that more needs to be done to permanently put an end to the drought situation in the country.
