Save the Children warns today that two million Kenyan children under the age of five are now in urgent need of emergency food aid as the hunger crisis in the country worsens.
Young children are being hit hardest by the lack of food, which has left 10 million people in need of urgent assistance. Children are most vulnerable to the effects of hunger, which leave them weak and at greater risk of life-threatening diseases. The drought has destroyed crops, killed livestock and made access to clean water extremely difficult. Families are now facing a desperate struggle to find enough nutritious food to meet their children's needs.
The numbers of severely malnourished children arriving at the aid agency's emergency feeding centres in North East Kenya have risen dramatically over the last month, with a 25 per cent increase of children arriving for emergency treatment since July.
Save the Children is also warning that conditions in Kenya are set to deteriorate further as the arrival of seasonal El Nino rains is predicted to bring flooding and leave another million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
Hannah Reichardt, a Save the Children emergency worker who has just returned from Kenya, said: "Kenya is at the height of an acute crisis and children are suffering the impact more than anyone. We urgently need to get more food into the region as once the rains arrive the area will be cut off and our job will get even more difficult. Children are in danger and world leaders and international donors must act now if we are to stop thousands of unnecessary deaths."
Save the Children UK is appealing for urgent funds to support our life-saving work in Kenya. To donate to the Kenya Emergency Appeal please visit www.savethechildren.org.uk or call 020 7012 6400.
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For further information or interviews please contact the Save the Children press officer on our out of hours number +44 7831 650 409 or on the office number: +44 207 012 6400.
