Kenya livestock dying in drought
According to a recent UN assessment, the drought in East Africa has led to the deaths of thousands more heads of livestock in Kenya’s Northeastern province as La Niña drought conditions worsen.
Drought monitoring and assessment reports indicate that the hardest-hit areas are Marsabit, Moyale and Mandera. Livestock farmers in the three regions have lost more than 17,000 animals since January 2011, according to officials from the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) and the government’s Arid Lands and Resource Management Project (ALRMP).
Mass deaths of livestock began in February, but the average daily loss of animals has risen in the last three weeks as crucial water sources dried up. Many of the remaining water sources are contaminated, leading to increased incidents of water-borne diseases such as typhoid, amoeba and diarrhoea.
“The most recent assessment conducted on the drought clearly shows that the situation is very serious compared to conditions in January,” said KRCS Marsabit coordinator, Abdi Malik. “More than 70% of an estimated 300,000 people are affected now and the figure will rise unless it rains. We expect more animal deaths. Thousands are weak and the few water sources are drying up. Pasture everywhere is exhausted.”
He added that the water shortage and depletion of boreholes had led to a mass migration of pastoralist families from Marsabit and Moyale to Forole in Ethiopia.
Thousands of residents from Mandera have also migrated from grazing areas and trading centres, according to the Rural Agency for Community Development and Assistance (RACIDA). Mohamed Dualle, coordinator of RACIDA, fears the situation will be even worse in April.
“We have not received a single drop of rain and yet the rains were expected two weeks ago,” he said. “We are faced with a humanitarian crisis. A significant number of deaths, mainly of children, pregnant women and elderly people can be attributed to hunger, dehydration and lack of water. Banisa, a rich grazing area and a trading centre with more than 18,000 people and surrounded by 16 villages, is almost deserted now. The only dam which has served the whole population for last seven years dried up last week.”
He added that livestock owners with large herds of animals had migrated to the nearest water point, 123 kilometres away, and livestock traders that have lost their businesses are also likely to move.
Mass migration of pastoralists with their livestock has led to a shortage of animals in local markets, triggering a price increase and a loss of income for those whose livelihoods depend on the trade.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said drought conditions, once periodic in nature, had now become a “predictable emergency” and an emergency response was no longer sustainable. Pastoralist leaders said large-scale measures adopted by the government to address the crisis were “insufficient and unsuccessful”.
