Child malnutrition rates high in drought-hit districts

Severe food insecurity in the drought-hit eastern and northern pastoral districts of Kenya has led to alarming malnutrition rates among children, a famine early warning agency said on Wednesday. "Very little milk is available for all age groups and most critically the young children. In addition, pastoralists are beginning to reduce the frequency and composition of meals," the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said in its December update on food security in Kenya. It said child malnutrition had reached alarmingly high levels in some areas of Wajir, Mandera and Tana River districts where a survey was carried out in October. Global Acute Malnutrition rates in these districts ranged between 18 percent and 30 percent, according to the report. FEWS NET said pastoralists were trekking up to 40 km in search of water, pasture and browse leading to weakening of the livestock and high animal mortality rates; especially in Wajir, Marsabit and Mandera districts. It said insufficient household nutrition was being worsened by the lack of clean water. Congestion around the few functioning boreholes had led to rising cases diarrhoeal diseases, it added. A significant proportion of farming households in the southeast and coastal lowlands were also under severe food stress, particularly in Makueni, Kitui, Malindi, Kwale, Kilifi and Taita Taveta districts, where long rains failed for the second consecutive year and the short rains were poor, FEWS NET said. The short rainy season contributes close to 70 percent of farm output in the lowlands, it added. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Friday some 2.5 million Kenyans were in need of emergency food aid and other non-food interventions following the failure of the October-December short rains. Meanwhile, the government has stepped up food aid deliveries to the most affected districts in Northeastern Province. President Mwai Kibaki visited Mandera and Wajir on Tuesday and participated in the food distribution effort. "The government will not shirk from its responsibility of looking after its people and will distribute relief food to all areas affected by food shortages in the country," he said, according to the Presidential Press Service. He said government would buy livestock from the pastoral communities and advised those with large herds of animals to take advantage of the programme to avoid losing them to drought. Animals bought by the government would be slaughtered and the meat distributed free of charge to the needy.