Reports Warn of Severe Food Insecurity in Kenya
The NDMA said that the worsening food security is attributed to below-normal short rains, reversing gains from previous seasons, leading to household food consumption gaps and elevated levels of malnutrition. The number is up from 1 million in July 2024.
"The situation is projected to deteriorate further during the March-May long rains season, with an estimated 2.8 million people likely to experience acute food insecurity," the NDMA warned in a report released in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
The agency observed that the 2024 short rains season performed below average across all livelihood zones in the 23 arid and semi-arid lands, leading to a significant increase in the food-insecure population.
According to the NDMA, declining pasture and water availability have resulted in longer livestock trekking distances as well as reduced livestock productivity, resulting in a 25-40 percent decrease in milk production and higher milk prices in the pastoral northwest of the country.
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