The National Steering Committee on Drought Response has raised a whopping Sh1 billion for its drought mitigation efforts as it targets to distribute food to one million Kenyans.

Under the WaKenya Tulindane Campaign, the committee will deliver food to Garissa, Nyeri, Taita Taveta, Narok, Marsabit, Meru, Baringo, Kwale, Makueni Counties this week alone.

The national steering committee has revealed that it will distribute the food to 48,560 households and is targeting to reach 290,000 Kenyans in urgent need of food assistance.

“We are grateful to Kenyans for the contributions thus far that have reached KES 1 billion even as we align as a Committee on the short, medium and long term plans,” said committee chairman Peter Ndegwa.

He added, “We have started implementing some of them such as a partnership with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to rehabilitate between 250 to 300 boreholes that are expected to give one million Kenyans access to water.”

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The crucial committee has distributed food to more than 400,000 Kenyans in 67,000 households in Marsabit, Turkana, Mandera, Wajir, Kilifi, Kitui, Kajiado, Isiolo, Samburu and Meru Counties since it was established in December 2022.

Kenyans can contribute via PayBill 880990 on all mobile networks and through the National Drought Mitigation Appeal Fund under KCB Bank, Riverside Branch, account number 1305486137.

According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), 6 million Kenyans in 32 counties are food insecure and the biting drought is set to continue owing to depressed rainfall.

The NDMA data also shows that at least 970,000 children and 142,000 pregnant women are malnourished and are in urgent need of lifesaving interventions, showing an alarming rise.

It further shows more than 2.6 million heads of livestock died due to drought as water availability reduced by 60 per cent and most permanent rivers recorded below 40 per cent of normal flow.