Main objective

Determine pastoral community vulnerability in Mandera county with regards to the current drought focusing on Food Security, Nutrition/Health, Water access and sanitation conditions, migration patterns, and condition of livestock.

Specific objectives

• Determine most severely affected districts and divisions with gaps in coverage of drought affected population

• Determine key programmatic areas of intervention

• Determine potential collaborations with local or international partners

Location

Mandera, Northern Kenya

Mandera West district (Takaba and Dandu Divisions)

Sample

Given the size of the Mandera county, poor road infrastructures and security constraints in Mandera East, the assessment focused primarily on secondary sources and direct observation. Interviews were conducted with the following key informants:

• Member of Parliament Mandera West Constituency, District Commissioner for Mandera West, Dandu District Officer, Dandu Police Division Commanding Officer and the CDF Chariman of Dandu

• Location chief in Dandu division

• Local and international NGO’s (Save the Children UK, CARE, RACIDA)

• WFP Relief Comittee Chairman in Dandu division

Period of field assessment 1st August 2011

Full assessment report expected by 7th August 2011

MAIN FINDINGS

County Profile Mandera County is an administrative County in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Mandera population is estimated at 1,025,756 persons (Kenya census 2009) and is mainly inhabited with mobile pastoralist populations, whose main livelihood relies on livestock.
The county has recently suffered from two consecutive failed rainy seasons. In June 2011, the county was rated by the Arid lands Drought Assessment Report as at “emergency drought level” and ‘deteriorating’. A Save the Children UK team reported a current General Acute Malnutrition rate at 32.6% and rising, with Severe Acute Malnutrition at 8.5% for the whole county.