Attachments
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
Note: The last situation report was dated January 15, 2010.
BACKGROUND
Recurrent seasons of failed or poor rains, sustained high food prices, environmental degradation, outbreaks of disease, and flooding have led to deteriorating food security conditions throughout Kenya, straining coping mechanisms, exacerbating pre-existing chronic poverty, and contributing to increased inter-ethnic conflict over access to limited land and water resources. Food insecurity in Kenya has also occurred in the context of ongoing civil and political unrest, including violence associated with the December 2007 election that displaced nearly 664,000 people in Nairobi and across areas of Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza, and Coast provinces, according to the Government of Kenya (GoK) Ministry of State for Special Programs. Although the majority of displaced individuals have subsequently returned to areas of origin, vulnerabilities among remaining internally displaced persons (IDPs) and disruptions to agricultural production in affected areas have contributed to increased food insecurity.
On August 20, 2009, the Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG)1 increased the projected number of people requiring emergency food assistance between September 2009 and February 2010 to 3.8 million individuals, representing a 32 percent increase since February 2009. In response to ongoing humanitarian needs, on October 1, 2009, U.S. Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger renewed the disaster declaration for food insecurity in Kenya for FY 2010.