13/02/2017

Within a period of six months, the number of people in need of relief assistance has doubled to 2.7 million in February 2017 following the short rains assessment in Kenya’s drylands. Kenya’s president has declared the drought a national disaster.

The majority of the 2.7 million are the most vulnerable including the elderly, sick, mothers and children under five.  The situation is expected to worsen between now and April depending on the performance of the 2017 long rains.

Since the launch of the Food and Agriculture’s Organization (FAO) Early warning – Early Action Fund in December 2016 targeting the worst affected areas in Kenya’s coastal and northern counties (Kilifi, Kwale, Marsabit and Wajir) more counties have moved into the “alarm” phase.  

The food crisis has affected at least twenty-three out of Kenya’s fourty-seven counties in the upper region and dry parts of former Western, Nyanza and Central province. Ten are currently clustered in the “Alert phase” and thirteen in the “Alarm phase” but none are in the "Emergency phase"so far. Distribution of relief food which started in certain parts of the country last year continued well into January 2017 in the additional affected areas.