The National Government and development actors will spend Sh259 million in drought response in Isiolo County by December this year.
Isiolo County Coordinator for the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), Mr Lordman Lekalkuli, said the amount includes provision of animal feeds, Water trucking, cash transfers and food for fees for secondary schools in the support of residents living in the areas worst hit by the drought.
The NDMA Coordinator said the government and development actors would step up support to the vulnerable residents since the number of the needy cases in the prevailing drought situation tend to escalate.
He made the remarks during a special County Steering Group meeting which he co-chaired with the County Executive Committee Member (CEC) for Health, Mr Wario Galma in Isiolo town Thursday.
Among other interventions, Mr Lekalkuli said that Sh5 million would be spent on food for fees to help needy students in public schools, with a view to reducing the cost of living for poor families from the region, which was also recently affected by locusts’ invasion which destroyed their crops in 2019 and 2020.
He added that the region was not spared by the Covid -19 pandemic which further negatively affected their economic activities and increased poverty among many families.
He added that the government had been incurring an expenditure of Sh3.5 million on water trucking to Modogashe from Habasweni in Wajir County, the nearest water point which is reliable for the area people.
Mr Lekalkuli further said that development actors have contributed Sh47.95 million to cater for borehole generator repairs, water trucking, and provision of animal feeds and cash transfer in the last two months.
The Merti Integrated Development Programme (MID-P) Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ibrahim Kabelo, said that his organization had received Sh5 million from Johanniter International Assistance to provide food vouchers to six villages in Cherab Ward in Merti Sub -County.
Kabelo added that 400 households from Mata-Arba, Malkagalla, Laffe, Dololo, Dakiye, and Bassa villages from Merti South area and 50 People Living With Disabilities will be the ones to benefit from Sh.5, 000 in the next two months.
The MID-P boss said that every household would receive 10 kg rice, maize flour, beans, and 5kg sugar, 3 litres cooking oil and 3 kilograms of canned milk.
Mr Kabelo further added that each of the 357 households from Modogashe in Sericho Ward of Garbatula Sub-County, would receive Sh7, 965 for two months from Oxfam through ASAL humanitarian network.
He said that his organization has been implementing the project which aims at enhancing the voices of marginalized communities and groups to have effective and efficient service delivery through an integrated risk management approach.
The MID-P CEO said that the organization had through an education programme sponsored over 500 girls to realize their secondary and university learning dreams in the area.
By Abduba Mamo and David Nduro
