More people in need of food aid, says government

The number of people suffering from food shortages in Kenya as a result of a prolonged drought following failed rains has risen to 3.5 million, the government has said. Special programmes minister John Munyes told reporters on Tuesday that the government was scaling up food aid distributions to 3.5 million people in 37 districts, up from a December estimate of 2.5 million people in 26 districts. The UN World Food Programme, however, said a more definitive estimate of the number of people in need of emergency food aid would be made by the Kenya Food Security Meeting (KFSM), which is currently carrying out assessments in 27 districts around the country. The KFSM comprises representatives from the Kenyan government, the United Nations and NGOs. "The figure needs to be agreed on by all partners in order for it to be credible to the donors," said Peter Smerdon, WFP spokesman. WFP estimated in December that the number of people in need of emergency food aid in Kenya would rise from the 1.1 million currently receiving general food distributions from the agency, to 2.5 million following the failure of the short October-December rains. Smerdon said WFP already has a shortfall of US $44 million and would run out of food for its Kenyan operation in February unless donors provided more funds immediately. In a related development, British charity Oxfam has urged the Kenyan government to return to the "single pipeline" food distribution system - through WFP - to ensure that the relief food reached those most in need. Oxfam's regional director, Paul Smith-Lomas, on Tuesday criticised the Kenyan government's decision to set up a parallel process to supply extra food, saying it had led to "to duplication, waste and in some cases the most needy going without help."