Govt appeals to donors to help with drought mitigation efforts

Head of Civil Service Joseph Kinyua has said that the drought situation is not going to improve anytime soon and government needs a total of Ksh11 billion for drought mitigations efforts up to July.

Mr Kinyua is now appealing to the country’s development partners to collaborate with government to address the drought emergency as well as food security challenges countrywide.

Stefano Dejak, the head of European Union delegation to Kenya said the European Union (EU) has already given the National Drought Management Authority Ksh3 billion to bolster the government’s drought mitigation efforts.

Kenya Red Cross Society boss Abbas Gullet has challenged Kenyans, especially the youth, to embrace farming and use of technology to ensure food security, while calling for concerted efforts to deal with such emergencies.

According to UNDP, a total 2.7 million people face starvation across the country due to the ongoing drought.

The government last week declared the current drought affecting 23 arid and semi-arid counties and pockets of other areas a national disaster.

Speaking at State House in Nairobi, after a briefing by Cabinet Secretaries involved in drought management and food security, President Uhuru Kenyatta further called on all stakeholders to support the government by up scaling drought mitigation programmes.

The government has also sought to assure Kenyans that it is doing its best to mitigate the effects of the ongoing drought by expanding its drought mitigation efforts.

Speaking during his weekly address on Sunday, State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the government is using all resources at its disposal to combat the disaster through the Ministry of Devolution.

“A few days ago, President Kenyatta declared the current drought a national disaster. Such a declaration gives the Government the powers to make available all resources at its disposal to combat the disaster,” he said.