Drought intensity in country worsening, committee says

Short rains that poured late last year had an insignificant impact on reducing drought intensity in the country, as the situation in all, except two arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), is worsening.

The National Steering Committee on Drought Response chaired by Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa on Thursday shared an update of their two months in office, highlighting the need for Kenyans to chip in and help with the response.

Referencing the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), Mr Ndegwa said that the current dry season in the country will likely reverse any gains made during the short rains and that drought will last much longer than expected.

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Their update shows that nine counties are now in the alarm phase of the drought, and another seven in the alert stage.

The latest report by NDMA shows that Kilifi, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Wajir, Isiolo, Kitui and Kajiado counties fall in the alarm phase category.

The other counties whose impact is being felt include; Embu, Narok, Taita Taveta, Makueni, Meru, Nyeri and Lamu counties are in the alert stage.

As a ripple effect, at least 940,000 children in the affected areas are now malnourished with another 130,000 lactating mothers facing the same predicament.

The committee announced that more than 2.5 million cows died during the drought that started about four years ago.

At least 65 per cent of agricultural produce failed to grow to maturity in most ASAL counties, Mr Ndegwa citing parched water sources as a contributor.

“Most open water sources are drying up. So, water is an important area that we need to start focusing on. The severity of the drought cannot be understated,” he said.

This announcement on the gravity of the loss comes months after leaders attending the United Nations 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) came up with a facility to establish a Loss and Damage fund that will cater for irreparable impacts of climate change that could not adhere to adaptation or mitigation measures.  

Mitigation measures

So far, the committee has raised about Sh650 million channeled towards drought mitigation measures which has benefited about 85,000 people in five counties.

Mandera, Kitui, Kilifi and Samburu and Meru counties were given priority for being the hardest hit by this disaster.

Kenyans who have benefited are just a fraction of those affected as more than four million people are still in dire need for humanitarian assistance due to the stinging impact of long dry spells.

To mitigate this, Mr Ndegwa announced a raft of short-term and hinted at long-term plans that they hope to implement in a bid to create long lasting solutions.

He announced two major partnerships; one with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and another with the Media Owners Association led by Nation Media Group’s chief executive, Stephen Gitagama.

Mr Ndegwa said that as a short term plan, the KDF will help in the technical aspect of the solutions such as building of about 192 boreholes across 30 counties that will benefit 1.7 million Kenyans.

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Mr Gitagama urged the media to continue performing its watchdog role and oversee the activities of the committee and even call them out should they suspect the money meant for response is used in wayward ways.

“It is unfortunate that more than 60 years since independence, Kenyans are still dying of hunger. The media will play the role of highlighting the plight of Kenyans across the country. Apart from mobilizing and highlighting the issues, the media has to hold the committee to account because we need to ensure that whatever is contributed goes to people who deserve it,” he said.

He urged politicians to desist from politicking and spend most of their time looking at the welfare of Kenyans.

“Drought is one of the areas that they (politicians) need to focus on. We should look at the plight of Kenyans and ensure no Kenyan is suffering and that we are all healthy and we don’t die of hunger,” said Mr Gitagama.

The committee has since urged Kenyans, just like they did in 2011 during the Kenyans for Kenyans campaign to send their contribution using the Drought Fund paybill number; 880990 and it will be free of charge.

The committee has not come up with long term solutions yet but a sub-committee is working on some of the lasting solutions and they will announce those in due time.

Some of the considerations highlighted by Mr Ndegwa include; technology such as enhanced early warning systems as well as plans to insure the affected.  

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