Meru, Kajiado Counties Continue to Battle Drought

Meru county is among the counties that have experienced failed rains in the last three consecutive seasons. The devastating effects of the ongoing drought in the region have left More than 200,000 people facing starvation and in need of aid.

Speaking during the launch of the Ripples International drought intervention project, Meru County National Drought Management Authority coordinator Duro Gordana said the worst hit areas are Tigania East, Tigania West, Igembe North, and Buuri.

The same is being witnessed in other counties such as Kajiado where about 500,000 individuals and at least 450,000 cattle are facing hunger. Kajiado has not received adequate rain in the last two years. The county officials have initiated measures to save residents from hunger.

The county officials and the national government on Thursday convened a crisis meeting dubbed “unity against hunger” which brought together more than 15 local and international, food security and conservation stakeholders.

Speaking during the meeting, Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku noted the county government had set aside 130 million shillings from the emergency kitty to cushion residents from the effects of drought.

“We have released Sh130 million from the emergency kitty. We are reaching out to non-state actors to step in to help our people. The drought situation in our partly semi-arid county is past the red alert. We need a rescue,” he said.

The emergency kitty will benefit 280,000 school-going kids with supplementary food as well as provide livestock farmers with free livestock feeds supplements.

Pastralolism is the economic mainstay for many Kajiado residents. With the ongoing drought, the number of livestock deaths has increased trajectory. A recent report shows that 450,000 cattle in the region are at risk of death. This has triggered increased migrations, as farmers search for pasture and water for their livestock.

The county officials in collaboration with stakeholders are planning to roll out measures that will help in mitigating the effects of drought in the region. This includes training farmers to shift from cattle rearing to agribusiness that will depend on irrigation water.

The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) says the number of people suffering from food insecurity in Kenya will increase to 4.35 million by October 2022 from the current 4.1 million, amid worsening drought in many parts of the country.

More than 20 counties in the arid and semi-arid regions are grappling with a severe dry spell that has worsened water stress, hunger, and malnutrition.

According to NDMA, more than 800,000 children aged six to 59 months are acutely malnourished while 115,725 pregnant or lactating mothers have also suffered from an acute form of malnutrition in the arid counties.