Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
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The number of food-insecure people in Kenya was approximately 2.8 million1 as of July 2023, down from 4.4 million people in February 2023 due to hydrological recovery from the drought. However, the number of children aged 6–59 months requiring treatment for wasting had only decreased slightly, from 970,214 in February to 945,610 in July, because of the cumulative adverse effects of the prolonged drought on food security, on water, sanitation and hygiene capacities and on health status. Of those children requiring treatment, 216,794 are severely wasted.
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UNICEF will support community-led emergency preparedness and response efforts to provide timely life-saving humanitarian interventions, while enhancing links between humanitarian and development programmes to strengthen government systems and enhance resilience.
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In 2024, UNICEF requires $44.7 million to respond with critical life-saving and protective interventions for the most vulnerable girls, boys, women and men in Kenya's Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, in urban informal settlements and in refugee settlements that are affected by the country's slow recovery from the severe drought in the Horn of Africa. The difficult conditions are exacerbated by the high cost of living, El Niño-induced flooding, disease outbreaks and refugee influx.
KEY PLANNED TARGETS
320,980 children and women accessing primary health care
109,497 children/caregivers accessing communitybased mental health and psychosocial support
162,596 children with severe wasting admitted for treatment
349,990 people accessing a sufficient quantity and quality of water
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
The severe drought in the Horn of Africa from 2020 to 2023 has hindered access to food, income and safe water in Kenya's Arid and Semi-Arid Lands.
Approximately 90 per cent of open water sources in Kenya had dried up by March 2023.8 The March to May (MAM) rains brought hydrological recovery, with open water sources recharging up to 70–100 per cent of their capacities.9 However, only 35–50 per cent of households treat drinking water; fewer than 50 per cent have handwashing facilities with soap; latrine coverage is below 50 per cent; and open defecation is at 40 per cent. This increases the risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
By mid-September 2023, 12,107 cholera cases had been reported in Kenya in 27 counties (1.6 per cent case fatality rate).10 Thirty-three per cent of cases were among children under 10 years of age.11 Approximately 60 per cent of cases were reported during the MAM rains, attributed to contaminated water sources and poor hygiene practices. As of September 2023, eight polio cases and 1,244 measles cases had been reported.12 As of July 2023, approximately 2.8 million people were food-insecure,13 down from 4.4 million people in February 2023.14 However, below-average milk and food production are expected in 2024 due to the cumulative effects of five failed rains seasons, and high livestock mortality will significantly slow drought recovery. 15 Additionally, high food and fuel prices pushed the inflation rate to 6.9 per cent in June 2023.16 The number of children aged 6–59 months requiring treatment for wasting slightly decreased from 970,214 in February 2023 to 945,610 in July 2023,17 due to the cumulative effects of the drought on food security, WASH and health status, with 216,794 children severely wasted.
There was a reported increase in child protection and gender-based violence cases in the drought-affected counties, including school dropouts (29 per cent), teen pregnancies, neglect, female genital mutilation and child marriage (66 per cent) affecting adolescent girls.18 As of the end of June 2023, Kenya was hosting 623,865 refugees and asylum-seekers (83 per cent women and children),19 up from 573,508 on 31 December 2022, an increase due to insecurity and the Horn of Africa drought. The refugee population includes 10,536 unaccompanied and separated children (4,352 girls and 6,184 boys).
The El Niño-enhanced rains expected between October 2023 and January 2024 may lead to destruction of WASH, health and education infrastructure, as well as disease outbreaks in 33 counties at risk of flooding.20 Around 2 million people could be affected by floods and landslides,21 with up to 200,000 people potentially displaced. Use of schools as displacement centres will affect access to schooling.