Act fast to save the hungry in Kenya

There is a rather harrowing story I read in the East African Standard about a man who was forced to drink his urine. (read EA Standard report) He had to or he would have died of thirst. The truth is that many more people are now facing similar difficulties as the fierce drought in the North East continues to take its toll. The young man mentioned in the report got lost in Wajir district as he looked for water. In the end he failed to get even a drop of water and ended up drinking his own urine to save himself. Had it not been for a rescue search party that scoured the hot countryside for him, things could have been worse.

Now the UN and the Kenyan government have made a joint appeal for urgent food aid. (read more) Yet the world's media and governments are slowly turning the other way. And herein lies the problem. Nobody wants to concede that there is a serious problem in Kenya and East Africa. It is as if the situation is improving yet in the real sense things are getting worse by the day. The UN appeal is welcome news and is a timely intervention and reminder of the pathetic situation on the ground.

Kenya's drought is certainly a disaster that the world should learn of and from. There is a clear need for the people of the world to see it with the urgency it deserves. Quick-fix famine relief operations are always welcome but they rarely address the long term nature of the problem. There is need for increased food production if the country's granaries and silos are to cope with demand for food. To avoid begging for external help (not a bad thing when disaster strikes but certainly one worth avoiding) the government must pull up its sleeves and make good its promise of boosting productivity in the farmlands and pastoral areas.

In the meantime there is certainly an air of desperation as the heat in the North East builds up and the drought sees searing hunger torment large pockets of the local population. Already 40 people have died of hunger and there are fears that the situation will worsen in the next few weeks. The putrescent carcasses of livestock that litter the roadside as one travels to Wajir and Mandera and the clouds of dust that envelope the vehicles are just some of the stark reminders of the forgotten population. It is time more aid agencies stepped in and water supply has to be restored to communities that are now thirsty and looking into the horizon as they await help.