Drought: USAID gives Kenya Sh16 billion in food aid

Groundnuts on display at Marigiti open-air market in Nyeri County. The price of cereals has increased following a severe drought in the country. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

Kenya has received Sh16 billion in donation from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to aid in drought mitigation.

USAID, in a statement on Monday, February 27, said it will also provide emergency food items such as maize, sorghum, and cooking oil for families in dire need.

Nearly 1.3 million people in the country are food-starved.

"USAID is providing more than $126 million (Sh16 billion) in additional food assistance to the people of Kenya as ongoing drought leaves more than four million people in the grips of a dire hunger crisis, with the number expected to rise to over five million by June [2023]," the agency announced.

The donation is part of humanitarian support to Kenya, as the country faces the fifth consecutive failed rainfall season.

"Given the magnitude of the current crisis, however, more funding will be required to meet expected humanitarian needs through 2023. USAID has acted early and aggressively in responding to the drought in Kenya, providing nearly $310 million (Sh36.6 billion) in humanitarian assistance in Fiscal Year 2022 alone."

More than four million Kenyans are facing starvation and lack access to water amid a severe, prolonged drought, while more than 960,000 children are malnourished.

Last week, climate experts predicted that the Horn of Africa region would experience depressed rainfall in the coming months.

On Monday, the weatherman said that parts of the Rift Valley and Lake Basin regions will receive rainfall this week, while the rest of the country continues to experience dry and sunny conditions.