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KENYA: Assessment confirms substantial food insecurity
NAIROBI, 10 March (IRIN) - An assessment of the food security situation in
drought-affected areas of Kenya has confirmed that households in the coastal
districts as well as in the east and southwest continue to face
shortages, a report said on 5 March.
The assessment, coordinated by the Kenya Food Security Steering Group, found
substantial food insecurity resulting from consecutive years of poor
rainfall, declining income options, depletion of livestock herds and increased staple
prices. The findings were expected to form the basis of
a national intervention and contingency plan to address the
shortages, the monthly food security report issued by the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems
Network (FEWS Net) said.
It said preliminary findings from the consolidated national food security
report, expected to be completed at the end of March, had shown that about 1
million persons in Turkana, Marsabit, West Pokot, Isiolo Narok,
Kajiado, Baringo, Koibatek, Bomet, Kwale, Kilifi, Malindi, Taveta, Makueni,
Machakos, Kitui, and parts of Nyeri districts might require food
intervention.
The final report, FEWS Net said, was likely to recommend that a significant
proportion of the 1 million persons receive relief food through Food-for-Work
programmes as opposed to direct relief. Turkana and Marsabit would require
immediate relief assistance in the form of general relief, supplementary
feeding and therapeutic feeding, it added.
Other interventions recommended by the field teams, the report
said, included de-silting and rehabilitation of water sources, resolution of the
wildlife/human conflict, construction of water points
in game parks, provision of certified seeds for 2004 long-rains planting, and
the continuation and
enhancement of the School Feeding Programme.
In the coastal districts of Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta and
Malindi, it was found that the 2003/04 crop output fell short of normal
production. In the households, little or no food stocks were found, yet
market prices for food were well above average. These districts, which
suffered exceptionally poor
rains in 2002, received unseasonable rains in January. But these had little
impact on crops, most of which had already wilted.
In Samburu District and Kinangop division of Thika District, some 44.7 percent
of children were found to be stunted, indicating chronic
malnutrition, the report said. It added that in the eastern districts of
Makueni and Kitui, only about half the normal short-rains maize output was
expected.
"Households in the worst-affected areas of Eastern Province are at particular
risk of increased food insecurity since the next significant harvest is not
anticipated until February 2005," it said.
According to the report, the largely agro-pastoral districts of Bomet, Kajiado
and Narok in Rift Valley Province, have experienced successive poor seasons
since 1997, resulting in substantial livestock losses.
"[It was] found that herders in Narok were still trekking up to 15 kilometres
in search of water, pasture and browse. In addition, an unusual 75 percent of
the livestock had migrated to the hill masses," the
report said.
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004
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