Kenya is experiencing the worst drought that it has in decades, and as a result, the final and longest stop by US First Lady, Dr Jill Biden, was in Kajiado County today.
Accompanied by US Ambassador Meg Whitman and EAC CS, Rebecca Miano, Dr Biden was greeted by groups of children singing, then by Maasai women in Lositeti village, after which she was welcomed by Kajiado governor Joseph Ole Lenku and Maasai elders.
She spoke with the elders and sat with women leaders in the community speaking with them at length as they explained to her what the situation has been like.
"In this area, they talked about how their livestock are dying. Obviously you can see the drought here, how bad it is. The one source of water here feeds 12 villages and each village has approximately 1,000 to 1200 people," Biden told the press.
She also found out that most people in the area made a living from their livestock but their livestock were dying.
"So they're having a hard time. Their children are malnourished, they cannot feed their children, they cannot afford to send their children to schools," she said.
The United States is providing 70 percent of the money that was going into the region to help with the situation, but Biden said that other countries need to join the US in the global effort to help the people in the region.
She also visited a primary health care station in the outreach center where people take their children to get screened for malnutrition. The outreach center is operated by Worldvision with the support of UNICEF and the World Food Program, but funded by the American government.
Clinicians and nutritionists from World Vision and USAID took her through how they have been helping the community with nutrition and medical aid during the drought.
Also present on Dr Biden's tour to Kajiado was Steven Jackson, head of the United Nations Kenya. He said that they were there with Dr Biden to try and bring attention to the unprecedented drought.
"Right now, we're looking at 6 million people on the brink of extreme hunger," he said.
Jackson backed what Dr Biden said on more countries needing to come on board.
"The more we do, the deeper the emergency gets. We need many, many more partners to come in and join the United States to share that burden so that we can get the help to the 6 million people that need it," he said.
UNICEF Representative in Kenya, Shaheen Nilofer was also present, and she told the Standard that they had observed families moving away to far distances in search of water and therefore children were dropping out of school.
"This is the worst drought in Kenya in 40 years, driven by climate change. Children and women are among those at greatest risk," UNICEF Kenya Representative Shaheen Nilofer said. "On the visit to Kajiado with US First Lady Jill Biden, we saw how tough the situation has become for many communities, including food and nutrition insecurity," Nilofer said.
She added, "That's why UNICEF is calling for increased funding in 2023 to meet the ongoing needs of children and families affected by drought in Kenya."
She said this will allow UNICEF to respond to children's urgent needs for nutrition and water, keep them protected and in school, and build communities' resilience to deal with future droughts.
She however was hopeful that the messaging by Dr Biden would reach large institutions and humanitarian groups to help with the crisis.
The visit to Kajiado marked the end of Dr Biden's tour and she will be travelling back to the United States tonight.
