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Kindiki spoke on Wednesday while co-chairing the 14th Development Partners Forum at the Official Residence in Karen, Nairobi, where he told development partners that the State is also committing Sh2 billion every month to support food assistance and livestock protection efforts.
Northern Kenya and parts of the Eastern region have experienced recurrent droughts in recent years, with forecasts indicating that below-average rainfall may persist in some counties through early 2026.
CS Kagwe explained that the response will adopt an all-of-government approach, treating crops, livestock, and livelihoods as a single interconnected system.
At least 2.1 million people in 32 counties face food and nutrition shortages, a situation officials warn could deteriorate further without rapid action.Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said the government is coordinating immediate relief efforts alongside longer-term measures to strengthen resilience.
According to the bulletin, nine counties- Wajir, Garissa, Kilifi, Kitui, Marsabit, Kwale, Kajiado, Isiolo and Tana River are in the alert phase and now “require close monitoring due to emerging drought conditions and potential impacts on food security, water access and pasture availability.”
The warning follows forecasts from the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), which projects a high chance of below-normal rainfall for October–December 2025 in eastern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, parts of Somalia, and northern Tanzania. ICPAC notes that this period is a key rainfall season, accounting for up to 70 percent of annual precipitation in some parts of the Horn of Africa.