Food situation getting worse, warns FEWS Net

The food situation, particularly among pastoralists in drought-affected areas of Kenya, continues to deteriorate, with available food and non-food resources falling short of growing demands, said a report released by a famine early warning agency. "The large number of livestock deaths, severe water shortages, the upsurge in human and livestock diseases and declining nutrition among pastoral households have cast a shadow over future prospects for pastoral livelihood," said the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) in its March update on Kenya. Pre-famine conditions were already evident in Mandera, Wajir and Garissa districts in the northeastern region, and Marsabit in the north, FEWS Net said. It also found that the situation among marginal agricultural households in the coastal and southeastern lowlands had worsened after a succession of three to six poor rainy seasons. "Should the 2006 long-rains season be similarly unfavorable, there could be a serious humanitarian and livelihood catastrophe, especially in the pastoral livelihood and the marginal agricultural livelihood," FEWS Net cautioned. The long rains usually begin in early April for most of Kenya. The United Nations has estimated that 3.5 million people in Kenya, mainly nomadic pastoralists, are suffering from the drought. Chronic poverty and limited livelihood alternatives have left them ill equipped to withstand the shock of the crisis, Oxfam International said earlier this month. "The sharp decline in livestock prices in northeast, combined with high [animal] mortalities, underscores the threat to pastoral livelihood," FEWS Net said. Mortality rates for camels and goats range from 10 percent to 25 percent, and is as high as 40 percent for cattle and sheep. Any remaining livestock are in very poor condition, and largely unmarketable. Livestock prices have plunged to between 20 percent and 40 percent of the average 2000-2004 prices. Should the next rainy season fail, few animals would be likely to survive, and a substantial proportion of pastoralists could lose their entire livelihood. Although there had been some rain in several pastoral and agro-pastoral districts in early March, there was little or no rainfall in the worst hit northeastern pastoral areas, except for Garissa district, according to the Arid Lands and Resource Management Project (ALRMP) of the Kenyan government. The provision of water seemed to be the most critical problem in the northeast, including Marsabit district, FEWS Net said. Most boreholes were operating around the clock to provide water, both on site and for trucking to schools, health facilities and communities. Because they were in constant use, borehole machinery and trucks broke down frequently, resulting in mounting repair or replacement costs. The ALRMP reported increased conflict over scarce resources in pastoral rangelands, including Turkana, West Pokot, Isiolo, Wajir, Mandera, Tana River, Samburu and Makueni districts, the FEWS Net update said. Most of the conflicts were being contained by local authorities in collaboration with members of affected communities. While no detailed nutritional assessments had been carried out in February, ALRMP monitoring data suggested a deteriorating situation, especially in the northeastern pastoral districts of Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Marsabit. Lack of milk, compounded by a sharp reduction in purchasing capacity, had substantially eroded the health of pastoral households.