The National Drought Response Steering Committee has been formed and commissioned as earlier directed by President William Ruto. This is in effort to mitigate the impact of drought situation in the country.
The 15-member team will be chaired by Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom PLC and will report directly to the Deputy President. The team has been tasked to establish a private sector-led drought mitigation appeal fund under the auspices of the Kenya Red Cross and mobilize resources to supplement the Governmentâs drought response efforts.
âThe President has established the Steering Committee to provide a framework for mobilization of additional resources following increased public interest in scaling up drought response to meet the needs of fellow citizens affected by drought. This teamâs efforts will, therefore, be only as good as our willingness to lend a helping hand. Now, more than ever, we need to rekindle our spirit of Harambee and be our brotherâs and sisterâs keepersâ, Said the Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua.
The committee will also oversee interventions to cushion affected populations from the effects of the ongoing drought and partner with the National and County Governments to strengthen the national capacity for resilient recovery to protect development gains from recurrent drought.
âWe remain cognisant of the urgent and immediate interventions needed to alleviate the suffering of those impacted by the current drought. Even as we discuss and implement these short-term measures, we are aware that there is a need to look at long-term interventions to mitigate the effects of the perennial droughts and climate change which has been blamed for the current situation. Climate action is integral to solving the recurrent droughts among other issues, and we believe the private sector has a critical role to playâ, Said Mr Ndegwa
According to the latest report from the National Drought Management Authority, the drought situation continues to worsen in 21 of the 23 Arid and Semi-Arid counties. This has been attributed to the four failed consecutive rain seasons and late onset and poorly distributed 2022 short rain season. The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance currently stands at 4.35 million based on the 2022 long rains food and nutritional security assessment report.