Tana starts distributing livestock relief pellets to herders
A herd of cattle at Lake Kenyatta in Mpeketoni, Lamu West
Tana River County officials have started distributing livestock drought pellets targeting 1,224 households in drought-stricken villages.
More than 4,600 bags of pellets meant for calves and nursing cows will be given out under the Sh17.9 million programme.
Finance executive Mathew Babwoya said the county has partnered with some organisations to ensure 6,583 more households are helped.
"We are coordinating with our partners to ensure a fair distribution of the drought pellets to the affected communities as we plan towards scaling up our intervention efforts," he said.
The aid had reached 42 villages, he said, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) had extended the drive to villages in the Tana Delta with 12,400 bags of supplementary livestock feeds.
He said county officials had requested the Treasury to fast-track the release of Sh132 million from the Disaster Risk Management Fund to bolster the interventions.
"The drought is severe and the levels of malnutrition are on the rise among children. We just pray that the auditor-general approves our request on time before we start losing human lives," he said.
The county also wants to replenish the emergency fund through a supplementary budget, hoping that ward reps will approve it.
Among other interventions by the partners are cash transfers from FAO of Sh2.7 million to 1,000 beneficiaries in drought-stricken villages, each getting Sh2,700.
Under the Kenya Livestock Insurance Project, 544 livestock-rearing families received payments of more than Sh5.1 million, with each receiving Sh9,338 by electronic transfer.
NDMA has also vaccinated 21,365 cattle, 34,430 sheep and 36,997 goats in Bura, Galole and Garsen constituencies.
Meanwhile, residents are awaiting the national animal offtake by the Kenya Meat Commission in the affected counties.
Some 788 cattle will be taken from Tana River, based on the severity of the drought and the number of cattle at risk, a number that residents say is too low considering how many animals are on the brink of death.
More than 15,000 households are at risk of starvation, with 3,000 animals estimated to have died.
Tana River NDMA coordinator Abdi Musa noted that the situation is dire, saying that more than 700 animals will not live past the end of the month.
Red Cross coordinator Gerald Bombe appealed to the government to start dispatching relief food to people in the area, noting that the lives of children are at risk.
