Kenya

There are currently 3.2 million people needing food aid assistance, and numbers are expected to increase in the coming weeks. Rates of Global Acute Malnutrition for children under five have exceeded and in some instances doubled the emergency thresholds in Turkana, Marsabit, Wajir and Mandera districts. A mid-season Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG) assessment in May 2011 found that up to 3.5 million people may soon require food aid assistance.

The most affected districts are in northern and north-eastern Kenya, where food insecurity is expected to reach crisis levels in August and September. Kenya-wide, the areas most severely affected by drought include the northern and eastern pastoral districts of Wajir, Marsabit, Isiolo, northern Garissa, northern Tana River, Mandera, and Samburu; and the south-eastern districts of Kitui, Makueni, Mwingi, and Tharaka. While Turkana has received some rain, malnutrition levels far exceed emergency thresholds. The dry spell between June and October, when the next rains are expected, will lead to further food and water stresses. A combination of food insecurity, falling nutrition levels, and poor access to health and water facilities has left thousands in need of urgent support. Immunization coverage is extremely low; measles coverage is 24%, polio 28% and diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT-3) 31%, which puts the majority of the under-five population at risk.

The shortage of maize and other cereals has increased food prices. Additionally, fuel price hikes, a combination of high poverty levels, and poor access to basic services in urban poor settlements has left many in need of hunger safety net programmes to guard against malnutrition.