Kenya appeals for help ahead of the coming El Niño rains

Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga urged the donor community to assist Kenya in dealing with the impact of drought and the much anticipated El Nino rains.

In a meeting that was held on 15th September the prime minister put emphasis on the gravity of the matter and said that at least 10 million Kenyans were facing hunger.

The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian Affairs OCHA indicated that urgent concerted action is required to mitigate humanitarian consequences of the prevailing drought and food insecurity.

Prior to this meeting, government ministry representatives, UN agencies and relief agencies had a workshop in Nairobi focusing on the anticipated rains and the expected flooding.

In this workshop they came up with an estimate of about 100, 000 people who will be displaced and a total of up to 750,000 people who will need humanitarian aid.

Jeanine Cooper, the head of OCHA Kenya pointed out that the Kenyan government should ensure that the rains are harvested and dams de-silted in preparation of La Nina which often follows El Nino where the country will face renewed dry conditions. [CK]