The US Agency for International Development USAID said on Friday that it would provide Kenya with $ 255 million in emergency assistance to combat a severe drought. According to the
government, about 4.1 million people in East African countries suffer from severe food shortages, and cases of malnutrition in children in parts of the country have increased from half to 942,000 in the last three months. increase. The
funding commitment is in addition to the $ 65 million that USAID has already committed this year, said Samantha Power, USAID administrator.
"We need another country to get up and join us," she said, and the food crisis could spread to other areas like education as hungry children can't go to school. I warned that there was no such thing.
The government has spent 12.6 billion shillings ($ 162.8 million) to help people affected by the drought, but said it lacked more than 15 billion shillings, the Minister of Special Programs said. Margaret Covia said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has hit the world's food supply chain, has increased drought-related suffering in Kenya and elsewhere, Power said. The World Food Program said in a joint statement with other organizations on Friday that more than 50 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda are expected to face serious food instability this year. .. The
disaster was caused by a lack of rainfall in most parts of the region and was exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine, which pushed up wheat and corn prices.
Read more: https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/usaid-pledges-kenya-255-mln-to-fight-drought-appeals-to-rich-countries-to-help/
