Sparse rains worsen plight of pastoralists

Key indicators worsened for many pastoralist communities during September and welfare has worsened seriously in Mandera, Marsabit and Wajir, northeastern Kenya, according to an early warning update released this week.

The situation had also deteriorated for pastoralists in Samburu, Moyale, Marsabit and parts of Tana River, Ijara and Isiolo, according to the Arid Lands Resource Management Project, cited by the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) network in its Kenya Vulnerability Update.

Dry conditions characterised September in most parts of Kenya, with the exception of some western areas, it reported. Meanwhile, pastoral and eastern areas - notably Mandera and Marsabit - had characteristically low rainfall.

"Most surface water sources have dried up [in pastoral areas], limiting water sources to boreholes, wells and tankered water," according to FEWS.

Much of pastoralists' livestock had now migrated to dry-season grazing areas much earlier than usual, it said. Long trekking distances had compromised the health and productivity of some animals, and livestock deaths had been reported in Wajir and Mandera during September, it added.

If the short rains between September and December were as unfavourable as the outlook suggested, it was likely to lead to "heightened food insecurity" in pastoral areas, the report stated.

Already, low milk output had raised rates of child malnutrition, which had previously stabilised and even improved in places, in a development attributed to supplementary feeding interventions by UNICEF, it added.

Increased rates of child malnutrition were now being reported in Wajir, Marsabit, Tana River and Mandera districts, FEWS reported.

In Mandera, Marsabit and Wajir, a number of areas had already been classified by the Arid Lands Resource Management Project as emergencies - "meaning that environmental indicators had fluctuated outside normal ranges and welfare status had worsened seriously, resulting in famine threat," it said.

The network recommended that the Kenyan government and its key partners work urgently to: rehabilitate key water sources in dry-grazing areas; strengthen security measures and encourage peace initiatives to improve pastoralists' coping abilities; and continue supplementary feeding for malnourished children.