President William Ruto
President William Ruto has directed his deputy Rigathi Gachagua to convene a crisis Meeting on Monday September 26 to discuss interventions that will tackle the effects of the severe drought in the country.
In a statement by the head of state, at least 3 million Kenyans are facing starvation hence need for a crisis meeting which will include all government officials and county leaders.
“My deputy Rigathi Gachagua will, Monday, convene a meeting of GoK involving county leaders/officials to harmonise urgent interventions to stem the severely adverse effects of ravaging drought in almost 20 counties that are putting about 3 million people at great risk,” the President stated.
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) reports that the abrupt end of the long rains season in 2022 has exacerbated drought conditions in 19 of the 23 arid and semiarid (ASAL) counties. These counties already have felt the sting of the poor performance of three failed seasons in a row.
The Head of State, who has not yet returned to the country, delegated the task to his deputy after the United Nations warned of an impending crisis in the Horn of Africa, which threatens the lives of over 3.5 million people.In the past six months, the number has tripled, from 1.1 million to 3.3 million, according to the UN.
Ruto in his maiden speech at the UNGA in New York, USA asked developed countries to help poor countries to grow their economies.
“3.1 million residents of these ASALs are now severely food-insecure on account of scarce rainfall over three consecutive seasons, leading to poor crop and pasture. This unprecedented confluence of intensely adverse events has exacerbated water scarcity and starvation, worsened by rising food prices, thus complicating Kenya’s roadmap towards delivering good quality of life to our citizens,” Ruto stated.