President William Ruto on Wednesday, September 28 chaired a meeting with development partners to discuss the drought situation affecting some parts of the country.
The president welcomed input from development partners in helping to end the drought.
Moreover, the head of state noted that the country must synergize forces with other stakeholders to ensure that the drought taskforce strengthens its response measures.
“The government welcomes the contribution by development partners to tackling the famine situation in the country,” he Tweeted.
“Aware of the fact that this is the worst drought in four decades, we must step up, create synergy, marshal more resources and adopt a more coordinated, real-time and targeted intervention that will guarantee assistance to the vulnerable people in drought-affected areas.” Ruto added.
Furthermore, the president met delegates from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Kenya’s drought response at the State House.
Other leaders in attendance were Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and many other legislators.
The meeting with development partners came a day after the president flagged off a consignment of 20,000 bags of rice, 20,000 bags of beans, cooking oil and assorted animal feed to various counties affected by the drought.
Furthermore, the head of state urged county governments to make provisions in their budget, “even if they have to slow down some of their projects”, so that they can first address the ongoing drought.
Also Read: President Ruto Flags Off Relief Food Aid
Moreover, Governors asked to adjust their budgets and make rooms for additional resources to mitigate the crisis.
As at now, 4.35 million people are in dire need of food, a number that is likely to rise in the coming months.
Nonetheless, Kenya is among the three countries in the Horn of Africa facing the worst drought in decades occasioned by the below average rainfall going into its fifth season.
