NAIROBI, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of food-insecure people in Kenya stands at 2.15 million, up from 1 million in July 2024, according to the East African country's National Drought Management Authority (NDMA).
The NDMA said on Friday that the worsening food security is attributed to below-normal short rains, reversing gains from previous seasons, leading to household food consumption gaps and elevated levels of malnutrition.
"The situation is projected to deteriorate further during the March-May long rains season, with an estimated 2.8 million people likely to experience acute food insecurity," the NDMA warned in a report released in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
The agency observed that the 2024 short rains season performed below average across all livelihood zones in the 23 arid and semi-arid lands, leading to a significant increase in the food-insecure population.
According to the NDMA, declining pasture and water availability have resulted in longer livestock trekking distances as well as reduced livestock productivity, resulting in a 25-40 percent decrease in milk production and higher milk prices in the pastoral northwest of the country.
