U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
BACKGROUND
Recurrent seasons of failed or poor rains, sustained high food prices, environmental degradation, outbreaks of disease, and flooding have led to deteriorating food security conditions throughout Kenya, straining coping mechanisms, exacerbating existing chronic poverty, and contributing to increased inter-ethnic conflict over access to limited land and water resources. Food insecurity in Kenya has also occurred in the context of ongoing civil and political unrest, including violence associated with the December 2007 election that displaced more than 663,000 people in Nairobi and across areas of Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza, and Coast provinces, according to the Government of Kenya (GoK). Although the majority of displaced individuals have subsequently returned to areas of origin, vulnerabilities among remaining internally displaced persons (IDPs) and disruptions to agricultural production in affected areas have contributed to increased food insecurity.
On August 20, the Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG) increased the projected number of people requiring emergency food assistance between September 2009 and February 2010 to 3.8 million individuals, representing a 32 percent increase since February 2009. In addition, the report identified approximately 2.5 million chronically food-insecure individuals located in urban areas, 100,000 persons displaced by post-election violence, 1.5 million primary school students in drought-affected areas, and 2 million rural HIV/AIDS patients as food insecure countrywide and in need of humanitarian assistance.
On October 1, 2009, U.S. Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger renewed the disaster declaration for food insecurity in Kenya for FY 2010. In FY 2009 and to date in FY 2010, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided nearly $243 million for humanitarian assistance programs in Kenya, including more than $24 million in USAID/OFDA funding to support nutrition, economic recovery and market systems, health, agriculture and food security, and water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions, as well as local procurement and distribution of food.
NUMBERS AT A GLANCE | SOURCE |
| Total Population in Need of Emergency Food Assistance until February 2010 | 3.8 million | KFSSG – August 2009 |
| Refugees in Kenya | 380,317 | UNHCR – October 2009 |
FY 2010 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING
USAID/FFP Assistance to Kenya: $50,000,000
Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Kenya: $50,000,000
