The Garissa County Government has allocated Sh100 million to help families affected by the ongoing drought in the region.
Speaking to representatives from the county and national governments as well as non-state donor partners during emergency drought response and resource mobilization meeting in Garissa, Finance and Economic Planning CEC Issa Oyow said the funds were set up due to the humanitarian crisis that resulted in severe food and water shortage caused by prolonged drought.
Oyow said a coalition of partners was necessary to unveil at least Sh 300 million in response to address the gnawing crisis.
He said the county government was initially involved in several mitigation measures that included drilling of boreholes, construction of water pans, supporting crop farmers, massive livestock vaccination and disease surveillance that helped to reduce the impact of the current drought.
“We urge the emergency response teams to share their plan of action, budget and areas of operation with the donor coordination department to avoid duplication of services and inefficiency,” Oyow said
“We need to meet on monthly basis to share drought intervention progress to harness our response efforts,” he added
He appreciated the efforts by donor partners who have taken an active role in the water, agriculture, health and livestock sectors to respond effectively on drought intervention.
Water CEC Abdi Omar said sharing information among partners was necessary and the water department was willing to engage and give technical support to all organizations undertaking water projects in the emergency response.
He called for a paradigm shift in the future programs of organizations to have a prior budget to respond swiftly towards emergencies such as drought and floods.
By Erick Kyalo
