Kenya: Poor rainfall worsens food insecurity

By Susan Anyangu-Amu, 31 December 2009 The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) has raised a red flag over the worsening food security situation in the Horn of Africa. Mr Karel De Gucht, the European Commissioner in charge of development and humanitarian aid, attributes the disastrous situation to the terrible potential of climate change. “Large parts of the Horn of Africa have had less than 75 per cent of normal rainfall this year, having already endured a series of severe droughts. The population can no longer cope with such extreme and protracted hardship which often comes on top of conflict situation. As a result, more than 16 million people desperately need help,” he said in a statement released by ECHO. Initial optimism occasioned by forecasts of El Niño rains were thwarted when November proved largely dry. Mr Samuel Mwangi, the acting assistant director of Kenya’s national weather forecasting services, explains that El Niño has been linked with greater rainfall during the annual “short rains” in East Africa, between October and December. …  In early 2009, the government declared the unfolding food security situation a national disaster, stating that 10 million Kenyans were unable to access food. In Ethiopia, ECHO reports indicate with several consecutive crop failures, the nutritional situation in that country has deteriorated badly and is expected to worsen further. The story unfolding in Somalia is similar, with the situation aggravated by ongoing conflict. In Uganda, ECHO indicates 2.2 million people in northern Acholi and Karamoja regions face food insecurity. …

Kenya: Poor Rainfall Worsens Food Insecurity