Garissa County Water CEC Abdi Omar has called for concerted efforts to mitigate the ravaging drought in the area.
Omar spoke during a consultative meeting to deliberate on mitigation measures and response over persistent drought that had adversely affected communities and livestock.
He said the drought was worsening day by day and called on State and non-State actors under the Water, Sanitation and Health to team up and draft better response and mitigation mechanisms.
“We wish to call on partner agencies and State departments to prioritize health and sanitation programmes during their response to avert drought related ailments,” Omar said.
“Drought in this county has resulted in increased borehole breakdowns as a result of huge number of humans and animals solely relying on the already over stretched facilities for their water needs,” he added.
Omar said there was an urgent need for fuel subsidies for water trucks, running boreholes and giving support to local water committees in their quest to operate and maintain boreholes.
The CEC emphasized the need to employ intra-peace dialogues on resource management to reduce communal conflicts breaking out due to meagre water and pasture resources.
By Erick Kyalo
