Food distribution delayed as situation worsens in Turkana and Marsabit

Food shortages persisted in the arid northern districts of Turkana and Marsabit last month as logistical problems delayed the launch of relief deliveries, a famine alert agency said, adding that inadequate May rainfall would lead to a deficit in the country's harvest. "Food distributions were delayed, and an estimated 125,000 people (out of the 181,000 who are estimated to need emergency food assistance [in Turkana]) had still not received their food allocation by the third week of May," the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net) said in a report. It said Oxfam was only able to distribute food to about 56,000. A number of other agencies were carrying out various relief activities, including UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF/Belgium), which is running a therapeutic feeding centre in the worst-affected areas, and the Christian Children Fund, which distributed food to the worst-affected in Turkwel and Loima divisions. "World Vision International (WVI) encountered substantial logistical problems it its distribution attempts, including a delay in finalising distribution plans; a delay in concluding agreements between the GoK [Government of Kenya] and WVI; problems transporting food from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB)depot after a crucial bridge collapsed; and insufficient quantities of food." FEWS Net said although distribution had now started, the delay would only deepen the effects of an already critical situation, noting that rates of child malnutrition were well over the World Health Organisation's Global Acute Malnutrition Rate critical threshold of 15 percent, exceeding 20 percent in all areas where the distribution was intended to take place. "While the GoK expects to meet its pledge to supply maize to both Turkana and Marsabit districts, close to 50 percent of the GoK's beans and vegetable oil pledge has not been resourced," the FEWS Net report, dated 4 June, added. The situation was exacerbated by the premature return to Turkana district of about 20,000 pastoralists from Uganda after they had lost some 5,000 head of livestock to raiders, rendering some of them destitute. FEWS Net said inadequate May rainfall would "only add to the problems, creating pasture and water supply problems in several pastoral districts, including Mandera, Wajir, southern Garissa, Ijara, Tana River, Baringo, Narok and Kajiado". According to the report, persistent drought conditions would mean that an estimated 1.34 million people in the pastoral and marginal agricultural areas would become highly food insecure. "This population will require 100,000 mt of food commodities for six months, at a 50 percent ration, except in Turkana district where a 75-percent ration is planned for." FEWS Net quoted the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) as saying that although planting was complete in all arable areas of the country, where the final area planted with maize was estimated at 1.1 million ha, nearly 10 percent higher than during the past three years, only 40 percent of expected hectarage was planted in Coast Province and 70 percent in Nyanza Province due to initial delays in the start of season followed by subsequent erratic rains. "Two critical factors combine to suggest that significant deficits might emerge during the July-October period. First, because of the poor May rains, the MoA has reduced its projection for 2004 long-rains season maize from 2.3 million mt to 2.03 million mt. Secondly, the maize harvest will now be delayed by up to one month following the late season onset in the early-harvesting areas of southwestern Kenya," said the FEWS Net report. It said Kenyan farmers expected to harvest 1.35 million mt of beans instead of the anticipated 1.8 million mt because of the dry conditions in May.