Catholic Bishops in Kenya Launch Drought Appeal Initiative to Address Food Crisis

“We are calling on Kenyans and all people of good will to contribute cash and give in kind donations to enable us to salvage the desperate situation for many families affected by drought in the above listed areas,” Catholic Bishops in Kenya said, and added, “We invite our partners to join this campaign and contribute towards this worthy cause.”

They said that the support and success of the initiative will contribute to end conflict among communities because migration in search of pastures will be minimized. They said that health related issues such as malnutrition will be prevented and children will stay in school.

KCCB members said that the drought crisis, which is the worst in the last 40 years in the country, has pushed many families to an extreme hunger crisis.

The drought situation “has been caused by three years of below average rainfall and the situation continues to deteriorate leading to food and water shortage, the death of livestock and loss of livelihoods for the affected communities,” they said during the May 27 press conference.

They added in reference to the drought situation in Kenya, “The situation was compounded by the desert locust invasion at the beginning of last year and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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According to the Catholic Bishops in Kenya, there are currently about 3.5 million people in the East African country who are affected by the issue of food insecurity and are therefore in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Making reference to the hunger situation in Kenya, they said, “This is a huge increase since August 2021. Due to lack of water and forced migration, 1.5 million livestock have died. There have been poor harvests and reduced livestock production resulting in households facing food insecurity at a crisis level.”

They said that the situation has been made worse by an increase in the prices of specific staple foods, which Kenyans struggle to afford.

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.