How do I survive?' Drought plagues Kenya's Turkana amid surplus elsewhere

"In Turkana, the land is rugged, roads disappear into dust, and villages are scattered across vast distances in a county of just more than a million people. Despite it being the rainy season, weather experts warn that Turkana and other arid regions may receive little relief. Authorities say drought is once again taking place, with 23 of Kenya's 47 counties affected."

"An estimated 3.4 million people do not have enough to eat, at least 800,000 children show signs of malnutrition, and livestock – the backbone of pastoral life – are dying. In Turkana alone, 350,000 households are on the brink of starvation. We are suffering from hunger, Turkana elder Peter Longiron Aemun tells Al Jazeera. We don't have water. Our livestock have died."

"Once we get here, we dig for water in the well and collect fruit. We wait for the water to fill the well. We take turns to fetch it because there is so little. There are many of us, and sometimes we fight over it."

Kenya is experiencing a severe drought crisis affecting 23 of 47 counties, with 3.4 million people lacking sufficient food and 800,000 children showing malnutrition signs. In Turkana county, 350,000 households face starvation as livestock die and water sources become critically scarce. Communities walk kilometers daily to access half-dried wells shared by hundreds of people and livestock, often waiting hours for meager amounts of unclean water. The situation is compounded by a paradox: while one-quarter of Kenya's population faces food shortages, up to 40% of the country's food production is lost or wasted annually. This crisis follows Kenya's worst drought in 40 years between 2020 and 2023, and weather experts warn that current rainy seasons may provide little relief to affected arid regions.

Read at www.aljazeera.com