WFP ask for 230 million dollars for Kenya

The U.N.'s World Food Programme is asking for 230 million dollars to help drought stricken Kenya. The WFP says that will amount to 260,000MT of food, the WFP is already distributing 32,000MT a month to 2.6 million people.

From this IRIN article that we found at Reuters Alert Net, we learn more about the other moves taking place to help the people.

The government is also trucking water to drought-affected communities and buying livestock at a cost of KSh8,000 (about $105) per live cow, significantly above prevailing market prices.

A 2009 long rains assessment found that "3.8 million pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and marginal agricultural farm households require urgent humanitarian food assistance".

The assessment, conducted by the Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG) in May and July, covered 30 districts, including 27 drought-prone ones and three affected by the 2008 post-election violence.

Failure of the long rains in the marginal agricultural lowlands and some pastoral and agro-pastoral areas have caused a substantial decline in both crop and livestock production, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net).

High cereal prices have further accentuated food insecurity. The average price of the main staple, maize, has doubled over the last year.

Expected long-rains maize production will be about 28 percent below normal because of insufficient rains - further tightening supply.