Kilifi, KENYA: More than 300,000 people together with over 25,000 livestock in Kilifi County are reported to be badly affected by hunger and water shortage due to the ongoing drought.
Speaking during a press briefing on food security on Tuesday in his office, county Chief Officer in charge of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries Baha Nguma said that drought has affected Kilifi North, Ganze, Bamba, Kaloleni and Magarini sub counties.
“The ongoing drought has really hit us tremendously and has caused food shortage and lack of water where people are trekking for long distances in search of the significant commodities,” said Baha.
Ngumah said Kilifi together with counties such as Marsabit, Baringo and Samburu, have ever been severely hit by drought for over 50 years since independence.
He said the County government in collaboration with other stakeholders including the National government through the National government Relief Food Program has intervened to contain the situation.
He said the county government has used sh. 100 million to purchase relief food for distribution to the people in Ganze, Kaloleni and Magarini Sub Counties in the past one and a half years.
“Organizations such as Red Cross Society of Kenya, World food Program (WFP) and National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) have come in to support by distributing food to the affected persons but we still have a lot to do,” Nguma added.
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“This is because every day the number of affected people and areas are increasing in the county, meaning the food we noramally distribute has to increase too,” added Nguma.
In July last year, more than three hundred residents in Ngamani area in Ganze Sub County were reported to be depending on wild fruits to sustain themselves from hunger.
