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The state is in dire need of Sh14 billion to effectively respond to the vulnerable and famine-stricken families in the country, East African Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has said.
According to the CS, the beneficiaries of the government intervention currently stand out at one million from at least 23 Arid and Semi-Arid Counties.
Speaking when she appeared before the Senate, she revealed that out of the 989,120 food insecure people, each household received a 22kilogram food hamper with 3kg porridge flour, 6kg maize flour, 8kg rice, 3kg beans, 1kg cooking fat, and 1kg table salt under the Humanitarian Emergency Response Programme.
The CS was responding to a question by Marsabit Senator Mohammed Chute.
The Senator had sought a list of the relief food distribution programmes currently being run across the country, indicating the types of food being distributed and the quantity of packages.
The Marsabit lawmaker also wanted to know the detailed list of all the suppliers of relief food under the programmes from 2017 to date, and the amount paid to each.
Miano said the Sh14 billion should be factored in the next financial year to enable timely response.
She said that her Ministry had requested funding for the current relief programme through a supplementary budget and was allocated Sh5.2 billion.
“The government stepped in to avert a possible disproportionate humanitarian crisis by reaching out to affected populations, the majority of them in arid and semi-arid lands,” Miano said. BY THE STAR