Political leaders drawn from northern Kenya are calling for more support to mitigate the adverse effects of the ongoing drought that continues to ravage most of the region.
Wajir County governor Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Mohamed says vulnerable populations including women and children continue to bear the brunt.
Twenty-four counties mainly drawn from arid and semi-arid regions are affected by the ongoing drought with about 2.6 million people in need of relief assistance while 623,000 children and 69,000 pregnant and lactating mothers are at risk of malnutrition.
Political leaders drawn from the region now want ongoing efforts to mitigate the drought redoubled to stop the situation from reaching dangerous levels.
In Wajir County, the worsening situation continues to affect area residents amid fears of possible inter-ethnic conflicts with pastoralist communities trekking for long distances in search of water and pasture for their livestock.
Speaking after a meeting with representatives from the World Food program, Wajir county governor Mohamed Abdi Mohamed said the prolonged drought has reached alarming levels with pregnant mothers and children below five years being the most affected.
Abdi says that his administration has enhanced mitigation efforts including hiring about 66 water trucks to ferry water across all the 6 sub counties in the region, even as he appealed for more support from the national government.
The world food program has pledged to support national and county governments in affected regions alleviate the suffering of area residents.
