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Kenya
Ten million risk starvation
Article published on the 2009-02-09 Latest update 2009-02-09 16:15 TU
A Kenyan nomadic herder looks at his cow, too weak to walk, at a water point in the north of the country
(photo: Antony Njuguna/Reuters)
Some ten million people are at risk of starvation in nearly all regions of Kenya, according to Action Aid. The non-governmental organisation says the Rift Valley, Kenya's breadbasket, which normally provides half of the the country's food supply is under serious threat. President Mwai Kibaki declared a state of emergency in January after it was revealed that the government was having difficulties providing food to some parts of the country.
In certain parts of the Rift Valley, rains have not fallen in two years, according to Melvin Chibole, Communications Director for Action Aid in Nairobi. "Most people who depend on farming are not able to farm because of lack of water," said Chibole.
But it is not only the lack of water that has had a lasting effect on the region. Kenya's 2007 "post-election violence has also affected the planting season of farmers," said Chibole. In the aftermath, "most of the farmers were displaced, so they did not have time to plant...this means that there will be a shortfall of maize, our staple food," he added.
The situation is proving to be dire for the pastoralists, too. "Since there is no food for their cattle, they have to make great trips, 60 to 70 kilometres away, in search of pasture and water," said Chibole. "And as they move, they also move their children, so education is almost coming to a halt in most of these areas."
The aid group is also trucking water up to 200 kilometres to places such as Mandara, where water is extremely scarce.
Chibole contends that this lack of food and water is not a new thing, but started late last year. Action Aid has been giving out food rations to the districts that are suffering, in conjunction with the United Nations World Food Programme.
Action Aid also has a 'food for assets' programme that calls for people in the affected areas to come up with sustainable projects that can help communities in the long run, such as creating new bore holes for water. But this programme has been put on hold for the time being.
"Now we are on general distribution [of rations] since people are too hungry to go work in the fields," he said.
For now, Chibole and the population are waiting for the rains to come in March.
"If it does not rain, the situaiton is bound to get out of hand. Even the aid that we are giving out is not adequate," he warned.
