Millions go hungry as Kenya drought wipes out cows

About four million Kenyans need food aid as the devastating drought sweeping across Kenya kills cattle en mass. Farmers in the worst –affected north of the east African country have lost more than 150,000 livestock, which has also led to a 40 per cent drop in maize production, the prim minister said. Pictures of hundreds of cow carcasses being tipped into a mass grave near Nairobi highlight the sheer scale of the disaster.

In an effort to rescue the situation the government last month announced a £4.1m plan to buy weak animals from farmers for £65 each. The animals were to be driven by truck to the Kenya meat commission depot in Athi River, a town near Nairobi, where they would be slaughtered and the meat sold to recoup costs. But many of the trucks taking the cows the hundreds of miles there did not have enough food or water onboard and large numbers arrived dead. Of those that did survive, many died soon after because of a lack of food and water in the holding bay. Kenya this week appealed to the international community to help it with emergency funds to prevent starvation."Let's appreciate the seriousness of the crisis and support where we can," Prime Minister Raila Odinga said at a key meeting in Nairobi, co-chaired by the World Bank. The situation was "extremely grave, " he said as at least 10 million Kenyans were facing hunger.

The crisis is being worsened by high food prices, caused by poor harvests. But poor planning has also left food stores lacking. In Kenya's markets, food prices have soared, as the poor harvests have led to a shortage of staple foods like white maize. And because of the shortage, prices are likely to climb higher, despite the fact that on the world market prices are much lower than last year. In some of the markets across Kenya the maize price has doubled over the past year. During the recent school holidays many schools that serve lunches in term time stayed open so that the schoolchildren could at least get one meal a day. There is also a serious water shortage, with some neighbourhoods in Nairobi going without for weeks at a time.

Even the country’s famous elephants are dying as rivers dry up and fields shrivel in game reserves. TV footage of elephant bones under the baking sun is another sign of how widespread the drought is. Nobody knows how many people have died because of it but the United Nations World Food program said 3.8 million Kenyans are at risk and need emergency food aid.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children