East Africa Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has confirmed that 9 counties are currently in the alarm drought phase while 13 others remain in the alert phase.
CS Miano stated during an update on the country's drought situation on Wednesday that the government is now working to determine immediate drought interventions to help assuage the nation's fragile state.
According to a survey conducted in collaboration with the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the counties of Kilifi, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Isiolo, Wajir, Kitui, and Kajiado are in an alarm state because they are in desperate need of food aid and require an immediate response.
CS Miano also stated that the counties of "Garissa, Lamu, Narok, Tana River, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi, Baringo, Laikipia, Meru, Taia Taveta, West Pokot, Nyeri, and Kwale" are on high alert and that appropriate action should be taken to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
However, CS Miano noted that the counties of Taita Taveta, Kwale, Garissa, and Tana River have seen a slight improvement as a result of light rains received during the last week of December 2022.
Concerning vegetation cover, CS Miano stated that early warning systems have revealed that the vegetation condition has deteriorated in some counties, most notably Isiolo, Wajir, and Garissa.
"Satellite monitoring also shows the same vegetation deficit in Kwale, Mandera and Samburu," she noted.
As a result, livestock mortality rate has increased.
"The body condition of goats and cattle ranges from fair to poor as a result of long trekking distances in search of water and pasture," said Miano.
She added that there is a poor recharge of resources throughout the Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) counties noting that there is need for water-related interventions such as repair of boreholes.
Major cases of child malnutrition have also been noted in Mandera, Garissa, Baringo and Isiolo.
The drought situation, according to the CS, has affected not only the ASAL regions but also a few non-ASAL counties, including Nakuru, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Nakuru, Siaya, Homabay, and Migori.
She thus confirmed that her ministry will work to keep Kenyans from further deteriorating the already dire drought situation, noting that she will begin by speculating on the impact of the expected short rains in March.
"My ministry is closely monitoring the drought situation. We are coordinating a multi-agency assessment to ascertain the impact of the 2023 short-rains season on food security. This will inform the scale of intervention."
Kenya has experienced five consecutive failed rain seasons since the drought began four years ago, affecting nearly 4 million Kenyans.
