Kenya will get a portion of the Ksh. 154.2 billion that the US released to help with the ongoing food crisis and drought.
Samantha Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), indicated that the food program kitty will help nearly 18 million citizens from Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia when she made the news on Monday, July 18.
“Today I announced an additional $1.3 billion in humanitarian and development assistance to respond to the threat of famine in the Horn of Africa. These funds will provide food aid, address child malnutrition, & more,” Power revealed.
The US response is set against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which has caused a record-high rise in global food prices with Africa, which mainly depends on importing grain and oil from the two nations.
Power revealed that the money would contribute to reducing the current humanitarian catastrophe in these three hardest-hit areas.
The United Nations (UN) reports that Kenya is severely affected by the catastrophic drought, and that there are currently 3.5 million people who are severely hungry.
The fund focuses on several important areas, including nutrition support to prevent and treat child malnutrition, farming and agricultural help to reduce crop and livestock losses, and emergency food to respond to the threat of famine.
Additionally, it will be used to provide immediate health care and clean water to help stop frequent illness outbreaks.
It will also be channeled towards urgent health support, clean water to prevent disease outbreaks often prevalent during drought and support to protect women and children from higher risk of violence.
U.S aid comes barely a week after UK Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer, signed a pact with President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to address drought-related effects.
Part of the deal signed was reopening of Kenya-Somalia border to ease movement of goods and services for humanitarian service programmes.
“Welcome news for both humanitarian access and more effective response. As I saw this week displacement and malnutrition are accelerating in the face of the devastating drought across,” Dyer explained.
Drought was declared a national disaster by the President in September 2021, with millions of Kenyans facing starvation.
Across the Horn of Africa, the worst drought the region has seen in 40 years is driving governments to the limit, wiping lives and livelihoods.
At least 10 million children are suffering as four rainy seasons have failed in the space of two years – killing livestock and crops and drying up water sources.
This year’s March to May rainy season is likely the driest on record and another season later this year could also fail.
