– Since March, Kenya’s parched regions have seen thousands of people uprooted and hundreds of animals killed, according to a report released on Friday by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA).
A severe drought that had affected at least 21 of the country’s 47 counties in East Africa had ended with the rains.
According to the NDMA, the flash floods brought on by the downpour had displaced about 5,000 families.
In its April report, the agency said that “flash floods were reported in Marsabit, Mandera, Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Narok, Taita Taveta and Wajir counties.” The report was made public in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
With up to 10 persons living in each home in Kenya’s pastoralist villages, the population that is impacted is sizable. According to the NDMA, 4,000 animals, including cattle, goats, camels, and sheep, were swept away.
The animals had survived a severe drought that lasted for more than a year, so it is a double sorrow for the pastoralists.
The NDMA stressed, however, that the grazing and food production systems in the desert zones have not yet been affected by the downpour. Therefore, there are still 4.4 million people in need of support.
According to the NDMA, “Acute malnutrition has also been noted across the counties, with 970,214 children between the ages of 6 and 59 months and 142,179 pregnant women and nursing mothers currently malnourished acutely and in need of treatment.”