NDMA raises concern over deteriorating nutrition in Asal counties

Dubu Abdi walks past carcasses of livestock in drought hit Elado area, Wajir.[ File, Standard]

The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has raised the red flag over the deteriorating nutrition condition in over 60 per cent of ASAL counties.

The authority has attributed the situation to the high cost of food stuffs, reduced milk consumption, and consumption of less diverse foods.

Other factors that have contributed to the crisis include illness, poor child care practices including feeding, and poor health services.

In its monthly report, NDMA has identified Baringo, Samburu, Turkana, West Pokot and Laikipia as the most affected counties by drought.

“The survey indicates that the nutrition situation was worsening in 67 per cent of the counties where the risk of malnutrition was already above the long- term average,” says the authority.

In the report, the authority noted that acute malnutrition remained a critical concern in ASALs, driven by previous food insecurity, high morbidity levels, and sub-optimal child care practices.

This is however expected to change in the coming days with the anticipated El Nino rains likely to improve the current drought conditions.

“The nutrition situation is also worsening in fifty percent of those counties where the risk of malnutrition was below the long-term average,” reads the report in part.

And as the drought situation worsens, the authority has called for continued monitoring of vegetation condition, water availability and livestock body condition as the country waits for the onset of the October–December short rains.

“The forecast shows above-average rainfall over most of the ASAL region, with the highest probabilities in the north-east and along the coast and lower Tana River,” says the report.

The harsh weather has been compounded by a rise in livestock diseases with West Pokot, Baringo, Wajir and Mandera recording the highest numbers.

Among the diseases recorded are este des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), and Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).

Other diseases recorded are Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), East Coast Fever (ECF), anaplasmosis and trypanosomiasis.

“The anticipated rains may increase livestock movement and disease transmission around replenished water sources, making continued surveillance, vaccination and timely treatment important,” says the authority.

On water accessibility, the authority noted that drying up of open water sources and reduced yields from shallow wells during the dry spell had forced households to travel longer distances in search for water.

“Counties where livestock are currently trekking longer than the average distance reported drying up of open water sources and migration as the main factors,” noted the authority.