UN appeals for nearly $170 million to aid pastoralists in northern Kenya

image_pdfimage_print

16 March 2017 – The United Nations and its humanitarian partners today appealed for $166 million to aid Kenyan pastoralists and farmers whose livestock and crops are suffering amid what the Government declared a &#8220national drought disaster.&#8221

&#8220With these funds, humanitarian actors will provide life-saving food, health, water and sanitation services to 2.6 million vulnerable Kenyans over the next ten months,&#8221 said Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya.

Half of the country is affected by the drought brought on by a third consecutive year of unreliable rains.

Below average rains are &#8220causing thirst and hunger, decimating livestock, destroying livelihoods, spreading disease, and causing large movements of people,&#8221 according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The latest flash appeal is a complement to Kenya’s ongoing nine-month response plan which faces a funding gap of $108 million, OCHA said.

Earlier this month, OCHA’s head, Stephen O’Brien visited Kenya to highlight the risk of famine facing people there, as well as in Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

Reporting his observations to the Security Council upon his return, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said the international community is &#8220facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the UN.&#8221

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.