Kenya

A woman in Kenya’s Isiolo Region leads her camels to water at a well rehabilitated and improved with USAID/OFDA support.

Laura Meissner/USAID

Following unfavorable rainfall in late 2010 and early 2011, severe drought conditions resulted in sharply deteriorating food security conditions among pastoralists in northern Kenya and populations in rain-dependent marginal agricultural areas.  Affected populations experienced loss of livelihoods, lack of food and agricultural resources, and limited safe drinking water necessary to maintain adequate health and nutrition. 

In 2012, perennial challenges to achieving food security—including endemic poverty and localized conflict—and the effects of the 2011 drought continue to affect millions of Kenyans despite measurable improvements in overall humanitarian conditions.  The late onset of the March-to-June 2012 long rains exacerbated conditions in areas of the country already stressed by high levels of food insecurity.  In addition, Kenya hosts more than 620,000 refugees, a majority of which remain in the Dadaab refugee camp complex.  As of August 23, the U.S. Government (USG) had provided nearly $159.4 million to support humanitarian activities across Kenya in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. 

USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED IN FY 2012

^*This figure includes funding for both disaster response and disaster risk reduction activities. (As of August 23, 2012)

Horn of Africa Fact Sheet #28  (422kb PDF) and map (1.41mb PDF)

Key Developments

The USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) expects worsening drought conditions in Kenya’s southeastern and coastal marginal agricultural lowlands and in southeastern pastoral areas through at least October due to the poor performance of the March-to-June long rains in these areas.  Although vulnerable populations in coastal areas are likely to experience Crisis—Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) 3—levels of food insecurity during the peak of the August-to-November lean season, FEWS NET does not expect food security conditions to reach Emergency—IPC 4—levels.  In August, the Kenya Food Security Steering Group—comprising Government of Kenya (GoK), FEWS NET, U.N. agency, donor, and non-governmental organization representatives—will conduct the post-long rains assessment, which will likely result in a slight increase in food-insecure populations in Kenya from the current estimate of 2.2 million people to at least 2.4 million as the lean season intensifies.

The total refugee population of the Dadaab and Alinjugur camp complexes has surpassed 472,000 refugees, including approximately 452,000 Somalis, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The GoK Department of Refugee Affairs, in conjunction with UNHCR, conducted a one-month registration exercise in the Dadaab refugee camp complex from June 4 to July 4, identifying more than 7,300 new arrivals since October 2011.  To address ongoing needs in the camp complex, UNHCR and partners continue to conduct health and protection screenings for new arrivals at the Dadaab registration center.