Campaign puts pastoralists on the map

 By Correspondent                                         

The State  has been losing billions of shillings in famine situations due to its failure to manage drought, the National Drought Management (NDM) Chairman Ibrahim Hussein has said.

Hussein said Kenya lost Sh970 billion between 2008 and 2011 “because of our failure to manage to manage drought conditions properly”.

He was speaking in Lodwar town during the launch of the Drought Risk Management and Early Warning Information Campaign.  Through the EU funded Kenya Rural Development Programme, Arid and Semi Arid Lands  Drought Management (KRDP/ASAL DM) project, pilot phases of the project have been commissioned in Turkwel and Lokichar divisions.

The Authority’s Chief Executive Officer, James Oduor, said there were many early signs of drought in the expansive Turkana County. He said the early signs indicated that should the October-December rains fail, the county could be plunged in drought.

Provincial administration and schools are some of the channels to pass information. Different colours of flags will be flown in rural institutions indicating different signs of drought. Oduor said the objective is to create an effective drought management system that can minimise the need for emergency intervention and enhance response mechanisms for action in acute drought emergencies.

 “Drought is one of the biggest threats we face as a country. It causes immense damage and suffering, both I drought prone counties such as Turkana and to our national economy”, said Hussein.

Droughts, he added, evolve slowly, meaning they can be monitored and their effects anticipated. NDMA was created to ensure the State and stakeholders respond better and faster, to make suffering and losses history.

It is part of Government initiative to ensure drought in ASAL areas do not become famine, resulting in emergencies.  “Drought is one of Kenya’s biggest threats, with dramatic consequences for the country, causing widespread suffering and loss among drought-prone communities”, said Oduor.

Contingency fund

During the recent Pastoral Parliamentary Group Conference, Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning Ms Ann Waiguru asked NDMA to deliver on ending drought emergencies in Kenya while ensuring that droughts do not turn into disasters.

In her remarks to the NDMA/EU in Mombasa, she committed to accelerate the establishment of a national drought contingence fund.

Turkwel and Lokichar divisions offer diversity of livelihoods, with Lokichar being mainly pastoral while the community in Turkwel is mainly dependent on both pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods.

The  County was selected for the pilot exercise due to its expansiveness and unique challenges that hinder community access to information.

Mr Oduor says the campaign is expected to enhance dissemination of appropriate, relevant and timely drought risk management and early warning information at community level and advocate translation of the information into action.

It is also expected to inform development of an effective two – way communication system to ensure early warning messages reach those at risk, are understood and acted upon.

Lessons learnt from the pilot will inform the scaling up process to other ASAL counties. The drought management system includes a drought early warning system, drought preparedness, mitigation, relief and recovery.

 Droughts in Kenya have a direct impact on the household food security of nearly 10 million people living in drought-prone areas, eroding the assets of poor communities.

 It also  undermines their livelihood strategies, culminating in a downward spiral of increasing poverty and food insecurity.