Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday appealed for food aid, saying many parts of his country are experiencing food shortages because of inadequate rainfall, his office said.
Kibaki said meagre rainfall has seriously affected food production in several regions, but insisted that his government will ensure that food aid reaches those affected, according to a statement issued by the Presidential Press Service. It did not say how much food will be needed.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) last month estimated that between 85 000 and 90 000 tons of food will be required to feed an estimated 1,4-million people for the six months beginning in August.
On June 18, Ben Watkins, a programme adviser with the WFP in Kenya, said because of the gravity of the situation, an emergency relief operation might soon become necessary in the low-lying, drought-hit areas of the Eastern, Coast and North Eastern provinces.
Watkins said relief agencies are already scaling up food-for-work programmes in the northwestern Turkana district and Marsabit district in the north, where a combination of drought, banditry and cattle rustling has left tens of thousands of people dependent on food aid.
A WFP spokesperson said on Tuesday that the Kenya Food Security Steering Group, comprising officials from the WFP, the government, the UN Children’s Fund and NGOs, is preparing a report on the situation after visiting the most affected areas with a view to launching an interagency appeal for food aid. — Irin