20,000 face starvation in Pokot Central

Over 20,000 people in Pokot Central are in dire need of relief food due to prolonged drought.

Pokot Central Assistant County Commissioner David Mutuku said Sekerot, Masol, Tarkayo and Thetulel are the most affected.

The administrator said the Government was aware of the situation and would start distributing relief food to the affected families soon.

"As a sub-county we have put measures in place to ensure that nobody dies as a result of hunger and for now the situation is under control," he said.

He added that they were expecting El Nino to continue until March but it subsided early in the region.

Mr Mutuku said the little rains that the region received has reduced migration of animals to far places in search of pastures and water. "Our animals have at least pastures to sustain them for a month before they start migrating to other regions," he added.

The assistant commissioner urged those living along Pokot-Turkana border to continue fostering peace in the region to ensure their animals access water from permanent rivers.

"The current peace that we have experienced in the past eight months will help us in mitigating the effects of the drought. Most of our animals have crossed to Turkana and herders are grazing peacefully," he said.

Drought in the region has affected school enrollment with most schools in the county recording low numbers since the beginning of the term. School going children have been skipping classes due to the drought. Mutuku said primary schools would be prioritised when distribution of relief food begins. In March last year, thousands of West Pokot residents were facing water shortage, a situation that interrupted learning as pupils were forced to drop out of school in search of pasture and water for their livestock and domestic use.

Cases of miscarriages were reported as pregnant women are forced to walk tens of kilometres in search of water.