Kenya Red Cross has appealed for Sh800 million to help more than 157,000 people facing hunger and those displaced by floods.
The society’s secretary General Asha Mohammed said while some parts of Kenya are being washed by floods, in arid areas thousands of people still have nothing to eat.
“What this means is that we are dealing with two natural disasters that essentially should be mutually exclusive—drought in one region and flooding in the other,” she told journalists in Nairobi on Friday.
The Kenya Meteorological Department says while western, Rift Valley, Coast and central Kenya will have enhanced rains this season, northern Kenya will have depressed rains.
Dr Mohammed said from the appeal, Sh483 million will go to flood victims while Sh315 million will buy food for drought victims.
The emergency situation is likely to continue until September, or end of the year depending on response.
She said the Sh800 million was based on projections made jointly by Red Cross, relief agencies and county governments in affected areas.
Dr Mohammed said the projections show between 15,000 to 30,000 families around Lake Victoria will be displaced by the ongoing heavy rains and will need shelter, food, clean water and basic health.
She said they are targeting 37,000 drought-hit people in Marsabit and 35,000 in Tana River with relief food.
“We are also expecting to reach 85,000 people in Mandera, Wajir and Turkana in the next phase of distribution,” she said.
The society will also transfer cash assistance of Sh5,400 per month for three months to each of 15,000 families in Mandera, Marsabit, Turkana, Wajir, Isiolo, Samburu and Garissa counties.
“Evidence has shown that cash assistance programmes can play a critical role in meeting immediate needs and enhancing economic recovery while promoting dignity,” she said.
Mohammed said theirs is a direct response to the appeal made by the National Government through Spokesman Cyrus Oguna on April 1.
Oguna said said 1.4 million Kenyans are threatened by drought and the situation may worsen.
“With the performance of the 2021 long-rains season forecasted to be poor, the situation is likely to dip a little, and the number of those in need of humanitarian support likely to increase towards August 2021,” he said.
Oguna said county governments, in collaboration with the national government, are distributing water to households in Turkana, Mandera, Garissa and Wajir counties.
“Other interventions include the provision of relief food in Turkana county by the county government, cash transfer under the Hunger Safety Net Program, which is currently in Phase 3. Every household receives Sh2,700 every two months, and targets over 101,800 households in the counties of Turkana, Mandera and Marsabit,” he said, adding that the government spends about Sh2 billion on the programme every year.
He said plans are underway to incorporate into the programme the counties of Wajir, Isiolo, Tana River, Garissa and Samburu.
