Nyeri – The government plans to spend at least 8 billion shillings to feed hundreds of people in the drought-hit area of ​​Nyeri county.

At least 200,000 people in parts of Nyeri are now in dire need of food, and the situation will continue until June this year, Rodman Lekarkur, the national coordinator for drought management in the Central Region, told reporters. said to be expected.

Officials said drought conditions would not improve much this year, even with the start of the March-April rainy season, after weather forecasters warned the rains were abating.

Areas most affected by drought include Kieni East, Kieni West, Matira East and Matira West.

“We are feeding 200,000 people at an estimated cost of nearly 3 billion shillings, including implementing water reclamation projects. If it rains, the harvest will only happen in June and July, so the effect will be felt in July.Then we can prepare for the worst-case scenario,” he said.

Apart from county government support, the NDMA received his 5 million shillings from World Vision, with 3.5 billion shillings allocated for major well rehabilitation.

Lekalkul blamed a temporary lack of rains on the cause of food crises in many parts of Kenya and warned that the situation was likely to exacerbate food shortages in central regions.

In addition to Nyeri district, the drought crisis is also being felt in Kirinyaga and Mulanga, where 138,000 and 54,000 people are in urgent need of food, respectively. “We estimated that people relying on rain-fed agriculture failed to mature 90% of their crops, which meant they had nothing to eat. ‘ said Recalcul.

“Again, there were people who practiced irrigated agriculture and faced big challenges. means,” he added.

A recent report from the NDMA said he expected the number of people in need of help to rise to 4.35 million by October last year due to a lack of rain.

Humanitarian organizations estimate that his 6.4 million people will need humanitarian assistance in his ASAL region of Kenya this year. It is also reported that at least 4.35 million people go to bed hungry and about 5 million people do not have access to enough water to drink, cook or clean.

Families have taken desperate measures to survive, including fleeing their homes in search of food, and the risks faced by women and girls have increased sharply since the drought began.

As the country grapples with its fifth rainy season in more than 40 years, there are increasing reports of children dropping out of school and more cases of child marriage.

The United Nations and Kenya’s humanitarian partners are seeking $472.6 million to help her 4.3 million people affected by this year’s drought and to support the government-led response.