Famine looms as the fourth year of drought unfolds in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Oxfam International warns that starvation will claim one life every 36 seconds between now and the end of the year in East Africa.
“The situation is critical,” Kenya Hope’s Joy Mueller says, speaking to MNN from a remote village in Kenya.
“Crops are failing; when there’s nothing for the livestock to eat, the animal milk production goes way down, and these people rely on that. Milk is a major component of their diet.”
Mueller is on the ground meeting with partners to assess the situation first-hand. She says external crises like the war in Ukraine and the global food shortage make the situation even more difficult. “Ever since the pandemic, the economy here in Kenya has taken a major hit. And now, with the continual drought, it’s just getting worse,” Mueller says.
“[Between] last November and now, basic food necessities have all doubled in cost.”
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SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth
CALL TO ACTION
- Pray for rain in Kenya. Farmers have been unable to get any substantive crop production for five consecutive seasons and pastoralist communities have lost their livestock due to the prolonged drought.
