The Samburu County government has approved the procurement of emergency relief food to feed over 157,000 Samburu residents facing hunger and starvation due to the ongoing drought.
Addressing the press after chairing the County Steering Group (CSG) meeting in his boardroom on Thursday, Samburu County Governor Lati Lelelit said that 157,000 people out of a population of 300,000 are facing hunger and the number is rising sharply.
He said that 15,000 bags of maize flour and 15,000 litres of cooking oil will be available for distribution to over 32,000 households facing starvation by next week.
“Samburu County is experiencing the worst drought situation in 50 years and the emergency relief food will feed the affected residents for at least twenty days as we put in place more drought mitigation measures through our budget and as we wait for more relief food from the national government.” He said.
The governor said that an elderly man died due to hunger in ndunyu uasin village in Samburu East.
“I saw the information about the death on social media and this shows that the situation is dire and we need to act fast or more deaths will be reported.” He said.
Lelelit disclosed that the livestock department has estimated that about 10,000 cattle will not survive the next few days due to lack of water and pasture.
“I am in talks with the Kenya Meat Commission to request them to offtake 10,000 cattle in Samburu county to cushion herders from loses.” The governor said.
The governor said that for efficiency, all relief food distribution will be coordinated by one committee that comprises national and county government representatives and nongovernmental stakeholders through the CSG.
By Robert Githu
