Locally led and Adaptive Alert-Based Cash Assistance to Disaster-Affected Communities in the Kenyan ASALs: Baseline, May, 2024

Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit and Tana River Counties

KEY MESSAGES

• At the time of the baseline data collection, the key findings indicated a poor economic well-being among households (HHs). The average HH expenditure (KES 9,055) was higher than the average HH income (KES 6,078). This implies that HHs are indebted (the average amount of debt was KES 6,834). The HHs lack access to essential services and basic needs.
  With the absence of any form of cash assistance, the HHs' well-being is likely to deteriorate.
• More than half of the HHs (53%) were found to have a poor food consumption score (FCS), across all counties. Without a cash assistance, the HHs are likely to face food insecurity, as the HHs lack access to a dietary diversity.
• The reduced coping strategies index (rCSI) was found to be 13.41 in Garissa, 13.7 in Mandera, 5.27 in Marsabit and 9.1 in Tana River Counties. A higher rCSI indicates that the HHs adopted more severe strategies, more frequently, to deal with the lack of access to food in the 7 days prior to data collection. In the absence of a cash assistance, HHs are likely to continue engaging in negative coping strategies (reducing the number of meals eaten in a day).