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KENYA CROP LOSS POSSIBLE FAMINE LOOMS
Saturday, February 28, 2009
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HYPERLINK "http://www.nation.com.pk/" Home » HYPERLINK "http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/pages/Regional/International" International » Drought-hit Kenya declares national disaster
Drought-hit Kenya declares national disaster
Published: January 17, 2009
NAIROBI (AFP) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Friday declared food shortages facing 10 million people a “national disaster” and launched an appeal for 400 million dollars in foreign aid.
“My government has with effect from today, declared the famine situation in the country a national disaster,” Kibaki said in a speech delivered in Nairobi.
Kibaki announced a raft of measures aimed at countering the effects of looming food shortages in several parts of the country affected by severe drought. “In order to deal with the food security crisis, my government has so far made arrangements to import seven million bags of maize at an estimated cost of 17 billion shillings ($213m),” he said.
“This maize will be sold in the market to lower and stabilise food prices for the majority of Kenyans,” he added.
Kibaki said the Kenya Food Security Steering Group had established it needed 37b shillings ($464m) to meet food requirements, support health programmes and agricultural initiatives. The Kenyan president said however that his government could only muster 5.2b shillings ($65m) and urged donors to fill the gap.
“I am therefore appealing to all our friends and development partners to assist us in meeting the shortfall of 32 billion shillings (401 million dollars) that will be needed to ensure the needs of 10 million Kenyans are met until the end of August this year,” he said.
Kibaki said the food crisis was mainly due to drought but explained that last year’s post-electoral violence had disrupted the planting season and also pointed to high inflation and the global surge in the prices of food goods.
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KENYA: Drought forcing children to quit school
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School-feeding programmes help boost class attendance
KILIFI, 12 November 2008 (IRIN) - Under normal circumstances, 14-year-old Paul Katana would be in school, but not today. Katana is instead flagging down vehicles along the Mombasa-Malindi highway, hoping to sell sacks of charcoal he is hawking.
About 2km down the road, a young boy watches over his mother's goats, while another is hawking brooms.
Many children in the north-coast region are staying out of school due to a lack of food and water, after a prolonged drought.
The number of school dropouts is increasing by the day, according to education authorities. "Pupils ... can no longer concentrate on [their] studies," said Kezia Yusuf, a local teacher. Worst affected are the districts of Kaloleni, Malindi and Kilifi.
"We ... can't do much, but just call upon the government to address this [situation] before it gets out of hand," Ann Charo, a teacher in Kilifi, said.
School timetables have had to change to cope with increasing absenteeism. "We no longer have lessons in the afternoon these days because not even half the school-children return after breaking for lunch," said Leslie Katana, another teacher.
"In the afternoon, the pupils would rather stay at home and help their parents search for water and pasture for their livestock than come to school," Katana said.
The children who do make it are also reporting to class later than usual.
“There is no use having them go to school when we have no water in the house,” said Phelomena Mcharo, a mother of five, adding: "There is no way I can ask my children to attend school on an empty stomach."
School-feeding programmes crucial
According to a programme adviser with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Kenya, René McGuffin, some of the schools in Malindi district had been targeted for school feeding as part of an emergency programme due to the drought in 2006. The programme was for a period of two years and was phased out in term three of 2007.
However, food distribution is going on in the district of Kilifi. Kaloleni district was recently carved out of Kilifi.
McGuffin said the three districts would be included in the new school-feeding programme starting in January; the current programme ends in December.
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Women queue for water in this file photo: Many parents in Kilifi have stopped sending their children to school due to a scarcity of food and water
"We did realise there are pockets of need in some of the divisions," McGuffin said. At least 60,000 school-children in the three districts are expected to benefit in the new programme.
"The government has recognised that there is a need to ensure the worst-off areas continue to receive assistance," she said. "When there is a true need based on the indicators we should be there."
Improving livelihoods
Many parents have stopped sending their children to school, said Kilifi district education officer, Dickson Ole Keisi. "They'd rather ask their children to stay at home and look after goats or do other odd jobs."
About 10 pupils from the local Jila primary school are working in a quarry in Kilifi.
Ole Keisi said the water and education ministries were working on providing adequate water to schools and the community.
NGOs were also running programmes to improve the quality of life among local communities but a great deal still needed to be done, he said. Most of the residents in the semi-arid districts live on less than US$2 a day.
Medical agency AMREF Kenya constructed water pans in Kilifi and Kaloleni, but they have since dried up due to the aridity of the land and overuse. The organisation is also helping local schools harvest rain water.
In addition, leaders are holding barazas (meetings) to sensitise parents to the importance of education. "Yes we have a [famine] problem ... but we are hopeful a lasting solution will soon be found," said Johnson Jeffer Yah, a local leader.
jm/aw/mw
Theme(s): (IRIN) HYPERLINK "http://www.IRINnews.org/Theme.aspx?Theme=CHI" Children, (IRIN) HYPERLINK "http://www.IRINnews.org/Theme.aspx?Theme=EDU" Education, (IRIN) HYPERLINK "http://www.IRINnews.org/Theme.aspx?Theme=ENV" Environment, (IRIN) HYPERLINK "http://www.IRINnews.org/Theme.aspx?Theme=FOO" Food Security
[ENDS]
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
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See also:
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32400" 11.02.2009 - UN launches fundraising campaign for Kenya famine
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32359" 05.02.2009 - First lady implicated in maize scandal
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32269" 27.01.2009 - Kenya scrapes maize import duties
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32260" 26.01.2009 - Kenya govt dissolves cereal board
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32238" 22.01.2009 - Kibaki threatens to dismiss waring ministers
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32212" 20.01.2009 - Parliamentarians urged to authorise loan for cereals
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32180" 16.01.2009 - Kibaki appeals for $400 million in food aid
» HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/articles/32114" 09.01.2009 - Kenya under famine threat
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HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com/countries/kenya" Kenya
Agriculture - Nutrition
Regional drought alert in Kenya
HYPERLINK "http://www.afrol.com" afrol News, 13 January - Several parts of Kenya are experiencing a deteriorating food security situation, in particular affecting western pastoralists and farm households in coastal marginal agricultural areas. In other parts of the country, however, a favourable rainy season has created optimism.
The cumulative rainfall for the 2003-04 short-rains season has created a pattern of great differences in Kenya. Most of the country's southern, costal and central areas have received well below average rains this season, while several of the eastern pastoral districts along the Somali border have receive well above average rains.
The effects of the poor 2003/04 short rains in the affected areas were made worse by a delayed onset to the season, and compounded by similarly poor rainfall in the previous two to three seasons, according to a new monthly Kenya report released by the US agency Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS).
The 2003/04 short-rains agricultural season is well underway in Eastern, Central, Nyanza and Coast Provinces, FWES reports. However, since close to 60 percent of the maize is grown in the lowlands, and these areas received late and poorly distributed rains, only around 80 percent of the expected area was planted.
- The major concern at the moment is the seriously retarded stage of crop development, following a three week to two month delay in the start of season, according to the FEWS report. "In addition, the crop in most of Coast Province and the marginal agricultural districts of Nyanza Province has been seriously affected by prolonged dry conditions."
The Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture still projects that the short rains season will yield 360,000 metric tons of maize - compared to the average output of 450,000 tons. However, this figure is likely to be revised downwards toward the end of January after the impact of this month's rains is more accurately determined.
Nearly all the 2003 long-rains maize crop has now been harvested. A relatively good overall harvest of 2.19 million tons - exactly at the Kenyan 1992-2001 average - is contributing to a favourable food security situation in most parts of the country at the moment. However, also this production had been poor in the lowlands of all marginal agricultural areas.
While the food security for pastoralists in the north and eastern areas of the country eas said to be satisfactory, "most areas of the western pastoral districts have suffered yet another poor season, heightening already precarious food security," FEWS warned.
Deteriorating food security here is chiefly attributed to the effects of successive poor seasons in addition to the poor 2002/03 short-rains season. Water has also now become increasing scarce and the Arid Lands and Resource Management (ALRMP) has reported that trekking distances of livestock - an indicator of water scarcity - have increased drastically.
The Kenayan government has continued relief food interventions that began in October in the worst-affected pastoral and marginal agricultural areas. An estimated 1.2 million people - about 15 percent of the country's population - are now being targeted in these pastoral districts.
According to FEWS, an estimated 3,660 tons of maize, beans and vegetable oil valued at US$ 270,000 is being distributed by the Kenyan government during January. "Unfortunately, the impact of this distribution is severely limited by the lack of precise targeting," the US agency comments.
By staff writer
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Starvation in Kenya
by Mary Beth Coudal
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Several children in Nakuru Camp, Kenya for the internally displaced enjoy a nutritious meal.
Image by: Melissa Crutchfield
Source: UMCOR
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Bishop Stephen Kanyaru M'Impwii, head of the Methodist Church in Kenya (right) and the Rev. Edward W. Paup, general secretary, General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church.
Image by: Felipe Castillo
Source: GBGM Mission News
New York, NY, February 20, 2009--Several weeks ago, Felix was admitted to the Maua Methodist Hospital, in Maua, Kenya, with severe tuberculosis. Felix weighed 20 pounds and was three feet tall. He was nine years old. Missionary Jerri Savuto sat by Felix's bedside, watching him gasp for breath.
"How hungry, alone and desperate he must have always been. I reached out and touched him and smiled at him," said Nurse Savuto. "His eyes looked up and met mine and then his little face broke into a smile. He gained weight and seemed to be doing much better but died four days ago." Jerri Suvuto is one of six United Methodist missionaries serving through Global Ministries in Kenya.
As many as 10 million Kenyans, a majority of them children like Felix, are dying due to pervasive drought and famine. The Kenyan newspaper, The Daily Nation, projected that October 2009 will be the first opportunity for a substantial rainfall. Ms. Savuto worries that many in Kenya will not live to see that next big rain.
As malnourished children are admitted to Maua Hospital, with their families' unable to pay, the staff goes without pay and the facility lacks money for necessities. So, too, families flock to Kenyan churches for food, prayer, and comfort, yet parishioners are no longer able to support their pastors. They subsist on donations. The Methodist Church in Kenya is seeking funding to continue the mission of the hospitals and churches.
Bishop Stephen Kanyaru M'Impwii, head of the Methodist Church in Kenya, visited the New York headquarters of the General Board of Global Ministries on February 19-20, 2009, to highlight the need for increased relief efforts. He met, among others, with the Rev. Edward W. Paup, general secretary, to convey the urgency of the famine.
"I'm not telling you what I've heard," Bishop M'Impwii said. "I'm telling you what I've seen. Starving people have died. It's very serious. Even in the capital, there are very many, many orphans."
"We are currently supporting churches in Kenya to respond to the famine in Nairobi, Coastal Province, and the Rift Valley (Nakuru)," said Melissa Crutchfield, an International Disaster Response executive with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). "These activities include provision of food aid for some of the most vulnerable populations, including nursing mothers, vulnerable children, orphans, school children, people living with HIV and AIDS, and internally-displaced people from the election violence last year. The grants are also providing some medicines for a clinic in Nakuru, and agricultural inputs like seeds and tools, so that farmers in that region can begin to grow for themselves again."
A report from the United Nations indicates childhood malnourishment is at the level of one in five in Kenya, a number which exceeds emergency requirements. "The number of people who are starving in Kenya seems to increase daily. Our pediatric ward continues to have so many starving, emaciated children admitted," reported Missionary Jerri Savuto.
One of those emaciated children is four-year-old Martin. Tall for his age, he must have received nutrition earlier in his life, according to Ms. Savuto. "But now the family has nothing. He was admitted with malaria, pneumonia, severe anemia, and starvation. We can help these children recover from their illnesses and even gain weight, but then we have to send them home to the same situation. The hospital has started a program to send food home with families of children like this," Savuto said.
Ms. Savuto also reported that in the capital, Nairobi, she saw many Maasai herds of cattle roaming through the city streets searching for a patch of green to graze upon. She wrote:
Their cattle are dying and they are migrating. We need your help. Please pray for us and please remember the hungry everywhere. You may not see them, for often they are invisible, but they are there, standing quietly, pleading with God to help them. I know God hears them. Do you?
Donations to assist UMCOR's response in Kenya can be dropped in local church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. The check should be made to "UMCOR Advance #982450, International Disaster Response," with "Kenya Famine" on the memo line.
For credit card donations, visit UMCOR's web site at HYPERLINK "http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/" www.umcor.org for online giving information or call (800) 554-8583. HYPERLINK "http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate.cfm?code=982450&id=3019041&div=1" Give now.
Mary Beth Coudal is the staff writer for Global Ministries.
Your local church may choose to enter into a multi-year Covenant Relationship with Jerri Savuto, William Savuto, or other United Methodist missionaries, for ongoing support of their work. For further information, please contact:
The Advance
General Board of Global Ministries
475 Riverside Dr, #350
New York, NY 10035
Phone: 212-870-3718
Fax: 212-87-3775
Email: HYPERLINK "mailto:covenant@gbgm-umc.org"
covenant@gbgm-umc.org
Web: HYPERLINK "http://new.gbgm-umc.org/Advance/" advancinghope.org
You can make gifts to support the mission work of Jerri Savuto William Savuto by making a donation through The Advance. The Advance is an accountable, designated giving arm of The United Methodist Church that ensures 100% of each gift reaches its intended mission or ministry.
Make a secure gift online: HYPERLINK "http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate_select_project.cfm" Visit Global Ministries Online Giving HYPERLINK "http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate_select_project.cfm"
Checks may be written to 'Advance GCFA' and placed in collection plates at United Methodist churches, or mailed directly to:
Advance GCFA,
P.O. Box 9068, GPO,
New York, NY 10087-9068.
Credit card donations may be made by calling
(888) 252-6174.
Please note on your check the name and The Advance Number of the missionary you are supporting:
Jerri Savuto, Advance Number: 08799Z
HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/who_we_are/mp/bionewmw.cfm?id=485" >> Biography
William Savuto, Advance Number: 08798Z
HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/who_we_are/mp/bionewmw.cfm?id=486" >> Biography
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See Also...
Topic: HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=Children&catId=7" Children | HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=Emergencies&catId=21" Emergencies | HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=Hunger&catId=40" Hunger | HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=Poverty&catId=57" Poverty | HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=Water&catId=73" Water | HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=Youth&catId=77" Youth |
Geographic Region: HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=Kenya&catId=114" Kenya |
Source: HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/browse_search/results/results.cfm?cat=GBGM%20Mission%20News&catId=9" GBGM Mission News
HYPERLINK "http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=5317" \l "more#more" INCLUDEPICTURE "http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/images/printn.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET
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INCLUDEPICTURE "http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/images/linksarrow.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET View Listing of Missionaries Currently Working in: HYPERLINK "http://new.gbgm-umc.org/work/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?criteria=Kenya&action=results&key=5&Submit2=Go" Kenya
Date posted: Feb 20, 2009
Global Ministries: Connecting the Church in Mission
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