President William Ruto flagged off 20,000 bags of rice, 20,000 bags of beans, and assorted animal feed to regions experiencing severe drought.
This move came following the deteriorating drought condition in Kenya, as several parts of the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) remained relatively dry and sunny with 20 out of the 23 arid and semi-arid counties affected.
Moreover, President Ruto flagged off the consignment to 23 counties most affected by famine and drought.
According to President Ruto, the second consignment of food aid would be sent to the drought stricken counties on Friday.
In addition the head of state will also examine the situation on a weekly basis to determine what else needs to be done to end hunger.
“On a weekly basis we will assess the situation and see what this intervention will mean for the people around the country and what additionally can be done as we go into the future,” he said as he flagged off the relief food.
“I have asked our development partners that we will have a meeting on Wednesday so that we can harmonize our approach and make sure that we avoid any duplication in any part of the country and so that we can leverage on the county teams that are assisting in identifying beneficiaries of this food.” Added the President.
Furthermore, the President mentioned their plan to work with the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) for animal off take to counties where animals are too weak to allow citizens not to get stuck in terms of animal feeding.
“We are going to work with the Kenya Meat Commission to make sure that there is an offtake program that will facilitate citizens not to get stuck with livestock when they do not have pasture,” he added.
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Furthermore, as the Horn of Africa enters its sixth season of below average rainfall, Kenya is one of the three nations in the region experiencing the worst drought in decades.
