Dua
08-25-2009, 07:33 PM
Kenya hit by mass hunger and water shortage
The number of Kenyans in urgent need of food aid has jumped by over 50 per cent to nearly 4m, according to official figures, as the country is hit by mass hunger as well as shortages of power and water. The immediate cause of the three-fold crisis is a prolonged drought, but critics of Kenya?s dysfunctional coalition government blame it for failing to mitigate the drought?s effects, in spite of clear warning signs.
The government was already facing public discontent over its failure to implement political reforms pledged after last year?s post-election crisis, but the real-life impact of the food, water and power shortages is fuelling the anger. New figures compiled by the government, the United Nations and aid agencies showed on Thursday that the number of Kenyans in urgent need of food aid had risen to 3.8m from 2.5m due to the failure of the ?long rains?, which normally begin in April. The UN?s World Food Programme says it is the worst food crisis since a drought in 2000 and is launching an appeal for more aid from international donors.
The worst affected areas are the pastoral regions of northern Kenya and the coastal lowlands, where livestock are dying, wheat and maize crops have failed, and the price of food in local markets is rising.
Water supplies for domestic and industrial use are also increasingly limited, and due to Kenya?s dependence on hydro power the drought has forced energy rationing in Nairobi, where many residents do not have electricity more than half the time. Desperation is rising in many food-starved areas as health deteriorates: in pastoral regions over 20 per cent of children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the WFP. Kenya?s grain reserves are set to run out in the next two months because the country currently has an estimated 500,000 tonnes but its monthly requirement is 300,000 tonnes.
In Isiolo, a town in northern Kenya, cash is disappearing from the local economy due to the failure of three consecutive rainy seasons, said Yusuf Hussein, a livestock owner and aid agency official from a group called Friends of Nomads International. Pastoralists traditionally earn money by selling their goats, sheep and cows, but because there is little vegetation for grazing the animals are either dying or becoming so emaciated they fetch meagre prices, he said.
Many families already get food rations from the government or the WFP, but Mr Hussein said they were insufficient. Some pastoralists were resorting to eating wild fruit while others had abandoned their livelihoods entirely to look for work in towns. ?We are not expecting rain until October or November so if immediate measures are not put in place I think people are going to die,? he said. The coalition government has made a flurry of announcements in the past two weeks on the food, water and energy crises, including plans for more food aid, irrigation systems, boreholes and extra power generation capacity. But Mwalimu Mati, head of the Mars Group, an independent watchdog, said ?it really is now stretching credulity? because the government is short of money, plagued by corruption, and has a history of announcing policies that it does not implement.
In common with many others he criticised the coalition for failing to act sooner given that it had been clear for several months that a crisis was looming. Western donors willing to fund food aid are likely to go via the WFP rather than the government. ?We owe it to Kenyans in distress to send resources through proven channels,? said Laetitia van den Assum, the Dutch ambassador in Nairobi. ?We?re not sure whether the government has the structures in place to make sure money arrives with those who need it most.?
James Nyoro, a food security specialist, said Kenya had a structural deficit in most food items partly because the population had been growing faster than food output for many years.
?What we are feeling now is the affect of policy failure over the last two decades or so,? he said. The country needed to develop small-scale irrigation, improve the availability of credit and fertiliser, and establish bigger strategic reserves, he added. The WFP is trying to encourage farmers to shift to more drought-resistant crops such as millet and sorghum to improve Kenya?s resilience.
Tanzania tumejiandaa vipi na njia za panya ambazo imekuwa ni kimeo kwa miaka nenda rudi kwenye mpaka wetu na Wakenya? Je WTZ tutaendelea kuwauzia mazao yetu kwa bei poa? Ni wakati wa kuweka mikakati kuona kwamba Kenya wanalipa bei halali ya mazao yanayolimwa na Tanzania bila dhuluma na kuimarisha biashara ya chakula kwa majirani zetu.
The number of Kenyans in urgent need of food aid has jumped by over 50 per cent to nearly 4m, according to official figures, as the country is hit by mass hunger as well as shortages of power and water. The immediate cause of the three-fold crisis is a prolonged drought, but critics of Kenya?s dysfunctional coalition government blame it for failing to mitigate the drought?s effects, in spite of clear warning signs.
The government was already facing public discontent over its failure to implement political reforms pledged after last year?s post-election crisis, but the real-life impact of the food, water and power shortages is fuelling the anger. New figures compiled by the government, the United Nations and aid agencies showed on Thursday that the number of Kenyans in urgent need of food aid had risen to 3.8m from 2.5m due to the failure of the ?long rains?, which normally begin in April. The UN?s World Food Programme says it is the worst food crisis since a drought in 2000 and is launching an appeal for more aid from international donors.
The worst affected areas are the pastoral regions of northern Kenya and the coastal lowlands, where livestock are dying, wheat and maize crops have failed, and the price of food in local markets is rising.
Water supplies for domestic and industrial use are also increasingly limited, and due to Kenya?s dependence on hydro power the drought has forced energy rationing in Nairobi, where many residents do not have electricity more than half the time. Desperation is rising in many food-starved areas as health deteriorates: in pastoral regions over 20 per cent of children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the WFP. Kenya?s grain reserves are set to run out in the next two months because the country currently has an estimated 500,000 tonnes but its monthly requirement is 300,000 tonnes.
In Isiolo, a town in northern Kenya, cash is disappearing from the local economy due to the failure of three consecutive rainy seasons, said Yusuf Hussein, a livestock owner and aid agency official from a group called Friends of Nomads International. Pastoralists traditionally earn money by selling their goats, sheep and cows, but because there is little vegetation for grazing the animals are either dying or becoming so emaciated they fetch meagre prices, he said.
Many families already get food rations from the government or the WFP, but Mr Hussein said they were insufficient. Some pastoralists were resorting to eating wild fruit while others had abandoned their livelihoods entirely to look for work in towns. ?We are not expecting rain until October or November so if immediate measures are not put in place I think people are going to die,? he said. The coalition government has made a flurry of announcements in the past two weeks on the food, water and energy crises, including plans for more food aid, irrigation systems, boreholes and extra power generation capacity. But Mwalimu Mati, head of the Mars Group, an independent watchdog, said ?it really is now stretching credulity? because the government is short of money, plagued by corruption, and has a history of announcing policies that it does not implement.
In common with many others he criticised the coalition for failing to act sooner given that it had been clear for several months that a crisis was looming. Western donors willing to fund food aid are likely to go via the WFP rather than the government. ?We owe it to Kenyans in distress to send resources through proven channels,? said Laetitia van den Assum, the Dutch ambassador in Nairobi. ?We?re not sure whether the government has the structures in place to make sure money arrives with those who need it most.?
James Nyoro, a food security specialist, said Kenya had a structural deficit in most food items partly because the population had been growing faster than food output for many years.
?What we are feeling now is the affect of policy failure over the last two decades or so,? he said. The country needed to develop small-scale irrigation, improve the availability of credit and fertiliser, and establish bigger strategic reserves, he added. The WFP is trying to encourage farmers to shift to more drought-resistant crops such as millet and sorghum to improve Kenya?s resilience.
Tanzania tumejiandaa vipi na njia za panya ambazo imekuwa ni kimeo kwa miaka nenda rudi kwenye mpaka wetu na Wakenya? Je WTZ tutaendelea kuwauzia mazao yetu kwa bei poa? Ni wakati wa kuweka mikakati kuona kwamba Kenya wanalipa bei halali ya mazao yanayolimwa na Tanzania bila dhuluma na kuimarisha biashara ya chakula kwa majirani zetu.