World Concern responds to worsening drought in Kenya

Water holes in Kenya are drying up

World Concern staff in the Samburu region of Northern Kenya are growing increasingly concerned as they witness the effects of ongoing drought on families in villages where World Concern works. 

Lack of water and food are causing families to leave their homes in search of water and pasture for surviving livestock. 

Many children are severely malnourished and need immediate intervention. 

“The little water that was in the water pans dried up two weeks ago and livestock have nothing to feed on,” said Rose Ogolla, Project Manager for World Concern. 

“This has led to an immediate mass migration. People are walking for up to 90 miles in search of water and pasture, usually leaving women, children, the disabled, and the elderly behind. 

"If the situation worsens in the next two months, there will be high cases of severe acute malnutrition, extreme water scarcity, increased respiratory tract infections, and water borne diseases.”

World Concern is providing emergency cash grants to families in Samburu, as well as ready-to-eat therapeutic nutrition to malnourished children, in partnership with the Ministry of Health. World Concern has also installed rainwater catchment systems and plans to build sand dams in the area, but the April/May long rains failed, and rain is not expected until the end of October.

World Concern is headquartered in Shoreline. For more information or to donate, visit their website