Kenyans Warned of 3-Month Nationwide Food Shortage
Kenyans living in various parts of the country have been warned to brace for a dire food shortage, with the crisis expected to worsen between October and December this year.
According to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the shortage is expected to affect more than two million Kenyans, particularly those living in the semi-arid parts of the country.
The report further indicated that about1.8 million Kenyans are currently grappling with food shortages, with 11 per cent of that number, which is about 179,000 people, facing extreme food insecurity.
The hardest hit counties are those located in the northeastern region, including Mandera, Isiolo, Garissa and Baringo, with IPC highlighting children as the most vulnerable to the menace.
IPC revealed that 741,000 children aged between 6 months and 4 years were suffering from acute malnutrition, while 178,938 children within the same age bracket were facing extreme malnutrition.
The international organisation further disclosed that 109,462 pregnant women across the country were suffering from food deficiency.
The situation has been further exacerbated by the United States government’s decision to cut critical food aid to the affected communities, leaving those affected with no alternative.
With the short rains expected to begin in October and December, Kenyans have been urged to prepare for increased food shortages due to reduced crop yields.
While most Kenyans, especially those who live in rural areas, depend on subsistence farming for food, scarcity is expected to drive up the cost of food prices.
The Kenya Meteorological Department, in its quarterly weather advisory, recently announced the likelihood ofprolonged drought and depressed rainfallbetween October and December this year.
In the advisory published on Friday, September 5, the weather department said the rain distribution across the country over the next three months would be uneven and below average.
According to the meteorological department, the months of September and mid-October would be dry, with the onset of the short rains expected to start from mid-October to November, before rising slightly in amount in December.
