Northern Kenya on alert as drought threatens lives and livelihoods

Most pastoralists in Mandera are counting losses as their livestock die due to lack of pasture and water.

Mohamed Hussein, a local, said he lost most of his goats to the drought, and that the few remaining ones risk dying too.

“I had about 200 goats, but I am only left with 15. They have been dying on a daily basis for lack of pasture and water,” he said.

In Banisa, the main water sources in the town have dried up, leaving residents to depend on trucks for supply.

The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) boss Hared Hassan said their Drought Early Warning System indicated that Mandera County remains in the "alarm" drought phase. Turkana, Wajir, Garissa, Marsabit, Isiolo, Kajiado, Kilifi, Kwale, and Tana River, are classified in the "alert" phase.

“The government, in collaboration with humanitarian and development partners, is scaling up drought response interventions to cushion at least 2.1 million food-insecure people and protect livelihoods in affected areas alongside long-term resilience measures,” Mr Hassan said.

In response to the prevailing drought in Mandera County, the National Government, working closely with the County Government, is scaling up drought response interventions to mitigate the impacts by supporting water trucking to 85 sites across Mandera North, Mandera West and Banisa constituencies.

​The situation prompted the Council of Governors to call for assistance and appeal for immediate intervention.

Speaking during the 2026 Development Partners Forum at the Deputy President’s Residence in Nairobi, Council of Governors Chairman Ahmed Abdullahi said the drought situation was worsening.

The Wajir governor attributed the situation to three consecutive failed rainy seasons of below average rainfall.

“Asal counties continue experiencing worsening drought situation following failed rains. In most counties, the short rains between October and December failed, resulting in inadequate water that has increased human pressure,” he said.

He said the drought effects can be felt in the other counties through increased food prices, water stress and livelihood disruptions.

“Many water sources have dried up in most counties and crop production has been affected, leading to an increase in food prices in the markets,” he said.

He pointed out that the expectant and breastfeeding mothers and children below five are the most affected by the lack of a balanced diet.

“Livestock is perishing due to drought and their market price has dropped significantly where with just Sh500 you can buy sheep,” he said.

The CoG chairman said the counties have set up County Drought Mitigation and Disaster Committees and scaled up early warning and coordination mechanisms, while carrying out water trucking, borehole rehabilitation and protection of strategic water sources.

“We have counties providing food supply and social protection services, including cash transfer to support livelihoods,” he said.

As the CoG called on the government to declare the drought a state of emergency, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki announced allocation of Sh6 billion for drought response while calling on development partners to boost the efforts.

Speaking at the same forum, Prof Kindiki assured Kenyans that the government was fully prepared to respond to the ongoing drought in the country saying adequate measures have been put in place to mitigate the situation.

“The government has made arrangements to ensure that we provide enough food to all the affected people and also to save their livestock. There should be no panic in the country,” he said.

Call for help 

He described the current drought as a climate-induced situation that will affect the country in the short term.

He urged the partners to support the government’s efforts to lessen the impact of the drought that has hit over 20 counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid areas.

“The government is also committing Sh2 billion every month and we ask for increased assistance from the development partners and other role players to ensure that the drought situation is comprehensively dealt with,” he stated.

He also said the government is assembling sufficient amounts of hay, vaccines and water to avert loss of livestock.

The DP revealed that the government was in the process of collecting data on how many people have been affected across the country to enable a proper response to the situation.

He admitted that there is a gap in livestock related intervention, including lack of funds to purchase vaccines and provide water for livestock.

“We have made a commitment of Sh4 billion every month and we are asking the partners to support with Sh2 billion monthly until when the situation escalates,” he said.

He added: “The government considers the situation serious and we have mobilised all the resources to prevent loss of life and despite a delay due to holidays, we shall be in those most affected areas responding to the situation.”

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