Disaster committee appeals for more relief aid

The Kenyan disaster committee has appealed for more help for drought victims. A report by Kenyan Television on 8 September, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said more than 3.3 million Kenyans had been directly affected by the current drought. Following three seasons of low rainfall in three-quarters of the country, the government set up the disaster emergency response committee to look into the food security situation in the country. Committee chairman Uhuru Keyattta said that food security at the household level was continuing to decline, particularly among the more vulnerable groups, while the purchasing power of the pastoral households had been eroded as prices of their livestock declined progressively against high cereal prices, thereby reducing household food access. Keyatta went on to say that the nutritional status of children aged between one and five years had declined or worsened. He said: “My committee continues to appeal to donors and people of goodwill, both Kenyan and non-Kenyan, to come to our assistance.”