The Kenyan government in partnership with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Welt Hunger Hilfe (WHH) and Concern Worldwide has launched the Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report of 2021.
During the launch, the GHI report themed ‘Call to action on climate change and drought, looking at the negative drivers of hunger’, was regarded as a tool designed to comprehensively measure hunger and food systems especially in conflict settings.
According to the report, the GHI score trend showed that, although the decline in the score is steady, it is falling at an increasingly slower rate and therefore, the fight against hunger is stalling in Kenya.
Speaking Wednesday during the event held at the Sarova PanAfric Hotel in Nairobi, Head of Nutrition at the Ministry of Health Veronica Kirogo said that the government through various initiatives was partnering with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to end drought emergencies in Kenya.
“Various sectors of government are working together with other stakeholders to eliminate malnutrition in terms of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and global hunger situation,” Kirogo noted.
She added that the government continue to tackle issues of food insecurity and has recently rolled out a nutrition action plan including: intervention of nutrition deficiency, implementation of nutrition counseling, agriculture thriving, and procurement of special nutrition commodities.
WHH Country Director Kelvin Shingles disclosed that the state of food insecurity in the world was on the rise even before Covid 19 outbreak.
“24.8 per cent of Kenya’s population is undernourished and another 25 per cent is stunted whereas 4.8 per cent of children’s lives are wasted thus reflecting acute undernutrition,” Shingles stated adding that the fight against hunger is dangerously off track.
Tumal Orto, a pastoralist and a commercial livestock farmer from the North Horr Sub County of the greater Marsabit County revealed that climate change cyclic and known to pastoralist communities over the years.
“Nutrition to pastoralist communities consists of meat and milk which is given to children under five years while soup from meat is given to mothers who have recently delivered,” Orto explained.
Siasa Place Chief Executive Officer Nerima Wako appealed to the government and other stakeholders to continue defending and pushing for bio-diversity and sustainability by supporting small scale farmers.
She recommended more public participation by the youth while urging them to venture into the farming business.
By Audrey Cherotich and Daisy Makena
