Drought starts to bite in northern Kenya, 10 million face famine
By David Clarke WAREGADUD, Kenya (Reuters) – Clouds of dust rising above the harsh scrub herald the arrival of more livestock at a borehole in northeastern Kenya, the end for some of a 45-km (28-mile) trek for water that must be repeated every few days. Drought is starting to bite in east Africa’s biggest economy and the government has declared a state of emergency, saying 10 million people may face hunger and starvation after a poor harvest, crop failure, a lack of rain and rising food prices. … The Kenya Food Security Meeting (KFSM), a coordinating body of government ministries and non-governmental organizations, said last month food security was critical for 3.7 million people, including half a million schoolchildren. … It said rains at the end of 2008 were generally poor after three successive poor seasons. In the area around Waregadud in Mandera, rainfall was just 10 to 20 percent of normal levels in the October-December period. … The problem Kenya and neighboring drought-prone countries in the Horn of Africa face is that traditional donors struggling with economic crisis are not meeting aid demands. Aid workers say, while drought is a regular feature here, this time the crisis has been compounded by high food and fuel prices worldwide, and in Kenya by post-election violence that meant farmers in the fertile Rift Valley failed to plant crops. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched an appeal for $95 million in December to help those at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa, but it says pledges so far have met just 6 percent of the appeal. … "When the governments of the world are busy bailing out car companies … it’s a shame that for a fraction of that they can’t intervene to save millions," said Andrei Engstrand-Neacsu, IFRC communications officer for east Africa.
