November 22nd, 2022

Kenya is currently amid an environmental crisis, and one of the country’s biggest worries is its wildlife. This prolonged drought has caused thousands of wildlife deaths due to the “depletion of food resources as well as water shortages” according to Peninah Malonza, Kenya’s Minister of Tourism. 

 

Kenya is a country in East Africa, home to animals such as lions, elephants, zebras, buffalos, and more. The country has a landscape of riverbeds and grasslands, which have dried up due to prolonged droughts. After 4 rainy seasons without rain, Kenya has lost “205 elephants, 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 51 buffalos, 49 Grevy’s zebras, and 12 giraffes in the past nine months,” This data was accumulated by Kenya’s Wildlife Service Rangers, Research Teams, and Community Scouts, and released by Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism. 

 

Aside from the wildlife deaths, the withered seasons are causing a famine. According to Africanews, “hunger affects 4 million people in Kenya.” In northern areas, 134,000 pregnant/ and or lactating mothers, alongside almost 950,000 children under the age of 5 are severely malnourished. As a form of complaint, the city’s people have decided to threaten a boycott of the elections. With the phrase “no food, no elections” they are representing their frustration with the fact that food and living prices have not been lowered.

 

These past four successive seasons without rain have caused the worst drought since the early 1980s. All sources of water have dried up “causing the death of more than 1.5 million head of livestock in Kenya alone”, as specified by Africanews. One woman in the small village of Purapul told Africanews “Now I eat what the monkeys eat”, here she is referring to the small berries villagers are forced to eat due to the famine. 

 

Droughts have a longstanding presence in Kenya. Their history dates back to 1975, greater than three decades ago. In 1975 the drought affected 16,000 people. In 1977 20,000 people, and in 1980 40,000 people were affected. In 1983-34 200,000 people were affected. In 1999-2000 nearly 4.4 million people were affected by famine. In early 2010 10 million civilians were at risk of hunger due to the effects of drought. 

 

The window between droughts has shortened and droughts are becoming more and more frequent, and dangerous. Every year for the past few years has been affected by a lack of rain. Shorter cycles between droughts also leave a shorter recovery time. Kenya is struggling to recover their country, livestock, wild animals, and crops in the short amount of time they have before the next crisis hits. 

 

Kenya has been caught in nature’s cycle for years, and with the rising issues of global warming, they are expecting this issue to become even worse. Action Against Hunger is a team of 35 employees working to help relieve Kenya of its food and water shortages. They work to increase access to safe sanitation and water, save lives affected by malnutrition, improve livelihoods, and help farmers deal with droughts. The Action Against Hunger program started in 2002 and they have since helped 80k people reach water, hygiene, and sanitation, and 836k people reach health and nutrition programs. In the last year alone, this amazing source has helped 943,311. All of this information is straight from their website, where you can donate and help the 3.5 million people in need in Kenya right now. 

 

By Milica Kolovic

Categories: Editorials