Kenya: Government Assures of Relief Interventions in 23 Drought Hit Counties

Nairobi — The government has assured 23 counties that have been hard hit by drought of continued relief support , including cash transfers and physical food distribution.

Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna said the government had earmarked 14 counties where the situation is critical, and other 9 counties where the situation is moderate.

Oguna said the cash transfer program launched December 2021 is targeting some 225,705 households from the affected counties.

“Each beneficiary will receive sh3,000 as emergency relief. The total amount disbursed is sh 677,115,000 in the month of December 2021, and a similar amount in January and February 2022,” he stated.

Oguna also explained that the government had also resorted to physical food distribution citing technical challenges experienced in the cash transfer program affecting some individuals in the target group.

The amount of food currently being distributed by the government includes 63,100 bags of rice (50kg), 62,000 bags of beans (50kg) and 800 cartons of canned beef.

He clarified that the physical distribution of food is not replacing the cash transfer program, saying its only being deployed to areas where food may be a challenge to acquire even when one has the money.

Other short term interventions by the government include water trucking to provide water for domestic use and animals, as well as the take off program aimed at off-loading weak cattle from farmers at a fee.