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OVERVIEW
In September 2021, the Kenyan President declared drought as a national disaster. As at July, the drought had affected 23 arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) counties (nearly 89% of Kenya’s landmass) out of the total 47 counties in the country (Business Daily 08/09/2022; KFSSG 01/09/2022;
State Department for ASALs accessed 02/12/2022). These ASALs are prone to dry conditions and have recorded, prior to the current one, two severe droughts in the past 12 years: from 2010– 2011 and from 2016–2017. Compared to the previous droughts, the current one (2020–2022) has been the most severe and has lasted the longest, spanning four consecutive belowaverage rainy seasons (OCHA 21/09/2022). 4.4 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity at Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse food insecurity levels in these 23 counties between October–December 2022 (IPC 28/09/2022).
The National Drought Management Agency (NDMA) classified Turkana and Marsabit counties in the Alarm phase of drought in October (NDMA 14/11/2022). They were projected to face Extremely Critical (IPC AMN Phase 5) malnutrition levels between August–October and area-level Emergency (IPC Phase 4) food insecurity levels between October–December (IPC 28/09/2022).
The majority of the people living in the two counties practise pastoralism (livestock herding of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels) as their main source of livelihood. Drought has particularly affected pastoral communities as it has caused pasture and water sources to dry up, resulting in livestock deaths and a lower output from remaining livestock. By mid-2022, the lack of water and pasture had killed 439,400 livestock in Turkana and 273,000 in Marsabit. Women, girls, and children from pastoral communities are likely to face compounding vulnerabilities from the drought. Some coping strategies used during the drought, such as livestock-selling and school dropouts, are likely to affect households in the medium to long term (ACTED 02/11/2022; KFSSG/Marsabit CSG 07/2022; KFSSG/Turkana CSG 07/2022).
Rainfall during the start of the current October–December rainy season had been below average, providing no break from the drought by mid-November. There is a high possibility for the rest of the rainy season to be poor, making it the fifth consecutive below-average rainy season in the country. Humanitarian needs are rising with the growing impact of drought. Because of insufficient resources, the government and humanitarian response remains inadequate to meet the needs of the affected population (OCHA 21/11/2022).