Attachments
Description of the Event
Date when the trigger was met 21-03-2025
What happened, where and when?
Kenya is facing a drought situation that has significantly deteriorated following the consequence of the rain failure observed since the last quarter of 2024. The National Drought Disaster Manager Agency issued the Kenya IPC Short Rains Assessment (SRA) on 28 February 2025, which was conducted by the Kenya Food Security Steering Group, where the Kenya Red Cross provided technical expertise. The report assessment emphasized the effect of the rain's failure in the past OND season while indicating a continuous below-normal March–May rainfall.
The assessment, covering the post-harvest period from February to March 2025, revealed that approximately 2.2 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or higher – Crisis or worse). Among them, 266,000 people are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), primarily in Turkana, Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, and Marsabit counties. By June, it will be approximately 292,000 people in Phase 4 and 2.5 million people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).
On March 21, the latest Acute Food Insecurity Situation for February - March 2025 and Projection for April - June 2025 Arid and Semi- Arid(ASAL) was published, with a significant increase in the food-insecure population compared to a similar period last year. The are a total of 23 ASAL counties in total, where 9 are arid and 14 are semi-arid.
The below-normal October-November-December (OND) 2024 short rains stressed the production and reversed gains from the past three seasons, worsening household food insecurity in ASAL regions. Widespread crop failure and low agricultural productivity have been driven by poor rainfall, compounded by crop pests, diseases, and high fuel and fertilizer costs, which have severely constrained farming activities, especially for vulnerable households. Facing this situation over the recent months has further stressed the overall food insecurity in the ASAL regions, where factors such as elevated food prices and conflicts related to resource management and humanwildlife interactions have been entertaining this food insecurity crisis.