"APA-Nairobi(Kenya) Prolonged drought in vast swathes of the Horn of Africa is causing the spread of hunger across the north of Kenya with more than one third of children found to be malnourished, some of them severely.
Such is the extent of the disaster, which has been compounded by high food prices that it is expected to continue beyond the start of the short rainy season in October.
The worst hit areas include North Eastern Province and parts of North Rift, among them Turkana, Pokot and Baringo.
Relief agencies have reported a rise in hunger-related deaths in camps within North Eastern Province, with media reports indicating that some people were dying in Turkana from hunger-related cases.
The Kenya Red Cross said in January it had warned of an imminent drought and advised the government to put in place mitigation measures. They lamented that nothing was done.
"It is wrong to see images splashed before the world of Kenyans emaciated from hunger yet again we had to rescue people from floods the other day," said Kenya Red Cross Secretary General, Abbas Gullet on Wednesday.
He asked donors and the government to consider permanent intervention measures such as the building of dams."
Such is the extent of the disaster, which has been compounded by high food prices that it is expected to continue beyond the start of the short rainy season in October.
The worst hit areas include North Eastern Province and parts of North Rift, among them Turkana, Pokot and Baringo.
Relief agencies have reported a rise in hunger-related deaths in camps within North Eastern Province, with media reports indicating that some people were dying in Turkana from hunger-related cases.
The Kenya Red Cross said in January it had warned of an imminent drought and advised the government to put in place mitigation measures. They lamented that nothing was done.
"It is wrong to see images splashed before the world of Kenyans emaciated from hunger yet again we had to rescue people from floods the other day," said Kenya Red Cross Secretary General, Abbas Gullet on Wednesday.
He asked donors and the government to consider permanent intervention measures such as the building of dams."
