KENYA: Harmonised Constitution Draft Launched

NAIROBI, November 17, 2009(CISA) -Hopes for a new constitution in Kenya were high today November 17, as the country launched the harmonized draft that will be reviewed by the Kenyans in the next thirty days.

The draft proposes a ceremonial president and an executive prime minister with powers to appoint professionals to the cabinet unlike in the current scenario where all members of the cabinet are Members of Parliament.

The draft is a culmination of over two decades of deliberations. This is the fourth draft since the 2002 when Kenyans had the Constitution of Kenya review commission (CKRC) draft, the Bomas Draft of 2004 and the Wako Draft of 2005. Among the issues that have been contentious are: the executive, legislation and devolution.

The launch was attended by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and the Chairman of the Constitution Committee of Experts (CoE), Nzamba Kitonga.

Addressing the congregation, Odinga said the Kadhi Courts issue was not as contentious as some people had taken it. He urged Kenyans to be sober and considerate as they addressed the issue.
“Let’s us be as constructive as possible when we address ourselves to the issue on the table-the constitution- making”, stressed the country’s Prime minister.

Addressing a press conference after the launch, the Chairman of CoE, urged the Church to assist the committee to harmonize issues around the Kadhi Courts.

“Please I urge you to continue to journey with us on the issue. We should be able to reach a smooth conclusion on the issue without much a do,” he stressed.

The Kadhi Courts have been quite “controversial” in the current constitution-making in the country.

Some Christians are of the opinion that the new constitution should do away with Kadhi Courts and that the State should remain secular.

On the contrary, the Muslims hold that the Kadhi Courts should be upheld as the case has been in the history of this country.

“Our position on the issue-Kadhi Courts has not changed. We are still against its inclusion in the new constitution,” remarked a church minister during the launching of the constitution review exercise,

Kenyans have been presented with an opportunity to offer their suggestions in the next one month. “Let Kenyans offer constructive suggestions to build an acceptable constitution that will, have meaning for all of us,” said Odinga.
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KENYA: Forest Guards Evict Settlers in Mau

NAIROBI, November 17, 2009 (CISA) -The Kenyan Government has refuted claims that the evictions of settlers from the Mau Forest are inhuman.

The government has not gone back on its word and those leaving the forest were provided with transport and food, Forestry and Wildlife Minister, Dr Noah Wekesa said in a statement on November 16.

He also accused leaders from the region of politicising the process saying, "The people who moved out have been provided with transport to take them where they would like to go.
Livelihood support is already on ground to cater for all encroachers for at least one month,"
He made the remarks as the Kenya Forest Services (KFS) started evicting squatters still lingering in the Mau Forest.

Those ejected joined nearly 2,000 now camping in three temporary camps after moving out of the dwellings in the South Western Mau. A team of forest service rangers moved deeper into the forest at Tinet where the settlers were persuaded to move out.

The armed officers did not use any force but talked to the concerned families and even helped them transport their belonging in their trucks. KFS trucks streamed out of the forest, carrying mainly women and children as men drove their animals and others carted households on donkey backs.

The operation got under way as the first form of humanitarian assistance started trickling in for the families staying in the cold in the temporary structures. A team of Red Cross personnel arrived at Kapkembu on Monday afternoon and proceeded to distribute what they termed "non-food items" - blankets, soaps and mosquito nets to the families.

However, the plight of the displaced families was worsened by heavy rains the whole afternoon. According to reports by the Daily Nation from camps in Kapkembu, Saino, Ndoinet, Tiriita and Kipkongor last week found that none of the arrangements promised by Forestry minister was in place.

Dr Wekesa said the eviction of settlers would continue as similar evictions had been undertaken in Mt Kenya, Mt Elgon, Cherangany and Aberdares. "People have been removed from Embobut Forest in Marakwet and Marmanet Forest in Nyahururu... Our appeal to all Kenyans is to support the government's conservation efforts as they are not targeted to any community," said Dr Wekesa.

So far more than 2, 000 squatters have left the forest in Chematich, Olenguruone, Kapkembu and Saino. The situation in Mau has been described as grave and it is imperative that the government urgently assists the families who are camped by the roadside.

Mau Forest is a forest complex in the Rift Valley of Kenya. It is the largest indigenous Montane forest in East Africa. The Mau Forest complex has an area of more than 27,000. Over the last two decades, the Mau Complex has lost approximately 25 percent of its forest cover - around 107,000 hectares (413 square miles) - due to irregular and unplanned settlements, illegal resources extraction, in particular logging and charcoal burning, the change of land use from forest to unsustainable agriculture and change in ownership from public to private.

The forest area has some of the highest rainfall rates in Kenya. Mau Forest is the largest water catchment area in Kenya. Numerous rivers originate from the forest, including Ewaso Ng'iro River (southern), Sondu River, Mara River and Njoro River. These rivers feed Lake Victoria, Lake Nakuru and Lake Natron. Westerns slopes of the Mau Escarpment are covered by Mau Forest.

The strategic importance of the Mau Forest lies in the ecosystem services it provides to Kenya and the region - river flow regulation, flood mitigation, water storage, reduced soil erosion, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, carbon reservoir and microclimate regulation.

ICC to investigate Kenya violence - BBC 11/5/2009

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor says he will request ICC judges to open an investigation into Kenya's post-election violence.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo made the comments after meeting Kenya's president and prime minister, who said they would co-operate with the ICC probe.

Prominent politicians, including cabinet ministers, are suspected of masterminding the violence.
The clashes left some 1,300 people dead and forced 300,000 from their homes.

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga agreed to share power to end the clashes that followed the December 2007 poll.

“ I explained to them that I consider the crimes committed in Kenya were crimes against humanity ” ICC's Luis Moreno-Ocampo

Mr Ocampo made the comments at a joint news conference with the two leaders.

"I informed them, in December I would request to the judges of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation and that is the process established by the Rome Treaty," he said.

"I explained to them that I consider the crimes committed in Kenya were crimes against humanity, therefore the gravity is there. So therefore I should proceed."

The BBC's Caroline Karobia in the capital, Nairobi, says this is a significant step forward as the government has been sending out mixed signals about the prospect of sending suspects for trial in The Hague.

A power-sharing deal in February 2008 - brokered by former UN head Kofi Annan - agreed that a local tribunal would be set up to prosecute those behind the violence.

But several deadlines to set it up were missed and Mr Annan handed over list of 10 suspects to the ICC - their identities have not been made public.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8344125.stm

Published: 2009/11/05 10:59:31 GMT© BBC MMIX

Taize brothers in Nairobi

Kenya
Brothers in Nairobi

At the end of November 2008, a young adults meeting brought together 7000 young people in Nairobi. Coming from several countries of Africa and beyond, the meeting was an African stage of the pilgrimage of trust on earth. April-June 2009, two of the brothers who prepared that meeting were back in Nairobi. Since September 2009, brothers are once again in Nairobi, and this time as “official immigrants in Africa!”

September 2009
20 September. We’re back at Mji wa Furaha, the youth centre which became our "base" throughout the preparation of the meeting in 2008. Fittingly, today happens to be one of two annual days of national celebration and the site is still swarming with young people. As we arrive the meeting is drawing to a close.

21 September. It is tempting to start organising, cleaning, repairing… There is so much to do ! However, it is more important to take the time to sit down with a cup of tea or a cold drink… and to greet all those who are welcoming us or will once again be our neighbours. First the little family living at Mji wa Furaha, then the leaders of the neighbouring parishes. And then there are all those we got to know during the preparation of the meeting.

While we would like to explain our plans, to stay focused on the mission that is before us, the second stage is to listen to our hosts : their expectations, preoccupations and priorities. The country is suffering from an exceptionally severe drought. Here, as in entire districts of the city, people have not seen a drop of water since July. Water lorry tankers have to be brought in at great expense. The current political deadlock, the lawlessness, corruption and increase in violence are further causes for serious concern.

The third step is to start to organise our life here. Official confirmation of our proposals could take years. We cannot wait that long. Plenty of tact, patience, respect for the way things are done here and imagination will be needed in order to make progress.

22 September. After queueing at six different counters and re-registering our digital fingerprints, we can finally pick up the residence permits which are waiting for us at the immigration office : now we’re official immigrants in Africa !

26 September. We clear and start to clean up a tin hut which served as a storeroom. It should make a nice little workshop.

27 September. We buy several dozen metres of drainpipe in preparation for the torrential El Nino rains that are expected next month. The ants are thirsty. They come in their hundreds to drown themselves in the water reserve in our kitchen. The fleas are thirsty too. Hidden and silent, they make their presence felt through bites which cause itching for several days. On a positive note, the drought has almost got rid of the mosquitoes. The north east of the country has been the worst hit. In this zone inhabited by pastoral nomads, whole flocks have been wiped out and violence flares up between different groups at rare water points.

28 September. A long afternoon’s negotiating to equip ourselves with material to lay a concrete floor in the hut that we hope to transform into a workshop. This morning we checked with the contractor who is rebuilding the walls of our kitchen what price he could offer us. It takes a lot of bargaining to reach an agreement with the traders at the local market, a 10 minute matatu ride away. Each price has to be negotiated separately. But it is transport that proves the most troublesome. Finally a lorry arrives and I am invited to supervise the loading : « Count the wheelbarrows. You’ll need seven wheelbarrows for each ton. »

29 September. The digging of our future workshop produces over a dozen wheelbarrow loads of red earth. « It’s the best soil. Here in our village we cultivate this red earth and we’ve never run out of food. » With these words sister Rose encourages us in our plans for a vegetable garden.

Last updated: 3 November 2009

Headlines - 10/9/2009

1- Annan Warns Kenyans of Political Dangers
2- Kenyans not ready to leave camps
3- KENYA: Cholera kills 29 as water shortage bites
4- Storm wrecks havoc in Kisumu

October 8, 2009
1-Annan Warns Kenyans of Political Dangers

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kofi Annan delivered a stern message to Kenya on Wednesday, saying that there was a “crisis in confidence” in the political leadership and that the country was flirting with disaster by delaying much-needed reforms.

Concluding a three-day assessment of where Kenya stands a year and a half after its bloody election period, Mr. Annan seemed grave, urgent and a bit discouraged, but not hopeless.

“It is clear this is a moment of truth,” said Mr. Annan, the former United Nations secretary general. “Please, as Kenyans, don’t sit back. When leaders fail to lead, sometimes we have to make them follow.”

He said that he expected the International Criminal Court to prosecute the “big men” who orchestrated the mayhem in Kenya last year, which killed more than 1,000 people, though he added that it was imperative for Kenya’s courts to hold their own trials of lower-ranking perpetrators, in a statement against impunity.

Last year, Mr. Annan helped pull Kenya back from the brink. He swooped into the country in January 2008 while it was still convulsing from ethnic violence set off by a deeply flawed election, which many international election observers said the government had rigged. Mr. Annan prodded warring politicians to the negotiating table, and he shaped an agreement that stopped the fighting and formed a governing coalition. Pictures of Mr. Annan’s Zen-like face were plastered on minibuses. Even a rare baby rhino was named after him.

But this time around, he did not seem so serene. Kenya’s leaders have been dragging their feet on the crucial issues that were laid bare during last year’s election crisis, including land disputes, ethnic favoritism and an imperial-style presidency. And very little has been done to prosecute the suspected ringleaders of the violence, many of whom serve in the government, in the top ministries.

Mr. Annan — who held long meetings with opposition politicians, human rights activists, religious leaders, election officials, diplomats and business leaders, along with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga — said Wednesday that the government had taken some steps in the right direction.

Last month, the national police chief, who was blamed for a spree of extrajudicial killings, was demoted. And last week, the anticorruption chief, who had been widely ridiculed for drawing an enormous salary (about $400,000 a year as the average Kenyan makes about $1,000) while doing just about nothing, was pushed out.

But the country still seems on edge, as Mr. Annan seemed to sense. He said reforms must be accomplished by the next presidential election, in 2012, and he had heard rumors that ethnic gangs were already rearming themselves, preparing for Round 2.

“Unless we take action,” he said, “we are running a great risk.”

As if to make this point, The Daily Nation, Kenya’s biggest newspaper, published a photo on Wednesday of a displaced man with an arrow sticking out of his chest, a result of a land dispute. The headline was “Agony,” and the man, like so many Kenyans nowadays, was wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/world/africa/08kenya.htm


2-Kenyans not ready to leave camps
By Will Ross BBC News, Eldoret

A Kenyan deadline expires on Friday for people displaced by post-election violence to leave their camps.

Two weeks ago President Mwai Kibaki ordered the closure of the camps, which at the peak of the violence were home to around 500,000 people.

But more than a year-and-a-half later there are Kenyans still living in tents some of whom are reluctant to leave.

Stanley Wanyoike said he will only leave if the president keeps his promise to give them land.

"We are ready to leave if the promise made by the head of state is fulfilled," said Mr Wanyoike, who was forced to flee his home with his wife and five children on 30 December 2007 - the night President Kibaki was controversially declared the winner of the election.

“ The government says you can't be given that money unless you pull down the tent. But if you pull down the tent you don't have anywhere to go ” Elizabeth Wanja

"That is being given a place to settle - some land. We are waiting to hear if we are to get land."

Early last year the agricultural showground in the town of Eldoret was home to almost 25,000 people. Less than 2,000 remain.

Each family has been offered 35,000 Kenyan shillings (about $470, £290) for leaving but to receive the money they have to dismantle their tent.

Tent is a generous word for leaky structures which are made out of shabby pieces of plastic sheeting and old sacks.

"I sleep in my small tent with my six children," said Elizabeth Wanja, who like almost all those in the camp is from the Kikuyu ethnic group and had fled attacks from Kalenjin neighbours.

Kikuyus were seen as supporters of President Kibaki, who is from that community, while his rival Raila Odinga was backed by ethnic Kalejins and Luos.

Safety in numbers
In Mrs Wanja's tent is one thin mattress, a few pots and pans, a handful of clothes and a radio.
“ We don't have food, we don't have clothes and we don't go to school ” Sonny

"The government says you can't be given that money unless you pull down the tent. But if you pull down the tent you don't have anywhere to go. So you are confused."

Many of the residents said they feared returning to the communities from where they were chased and wanted to be given a large piece of land so they could settle in a fairly large group - safety in numbers being the preferred security option.

During his visit to Kenya this week former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan lamented how Kenyans were still in camps so long after the signing of a peace deal which he had mediated.

Critics suggest some Kenyan politicians have been far more focused on protecting themselves than helping the plight of those whose lives were shattered by the violence - some of which was instigated by politicians.

No forcible evictions
"The Showground in Eldoret is the only IDP [internally displaced person] camp left in Kenya," the minister for special programmes Naomi Shaban told the BBC. [This claim is hotly contested.]

"The government is still in the process of acquiring land to settle the IDPs on. I don't think the process could have been done any faster as it is an extremely complicated exercise," said the minister, who added that she could not state categorically whether or not the remaining IDPs in Eldoret's Showground would be given land.

She dismissed the possibility of them being forcefully removed from the camp as the deadline expired.

Walking amongst the ramshackle tents Mrs Wanja's daughter, Sonny, was hoping she would soon be back in school.

"We just stay here like animals because when the rain comes there is water in the tent. We don't have food, we don't have clothes and we don't go to school," said 11-year-old Sonny, who remembers the day she fled her home.

"They burnt our house. They killed my father - they slashed him like grass and put him in a dam."

"We cannot go anywhere because we need somewhere we can stay. President Mwai Kibaki said they will give us land. I have not seen the land yet."

There are those who feel progress is being achieved.

'Bury the hatchet'
"One year nine months down the line people are running their lives as normal - a bigger percentage of them," said Robert Odhiambo of the International Organization of Migration (IOM), which has helped build more than 4,000 new homes for people affected by the violence.

"So maybe for this small percentage that's remaining we need to find out exactly, individual by individual, what's the real reason why somebody's not going back."

Although in some areas tensions still exist, the IOM has had some success in ensuring there is some mixing of rival ethnic groups in the Rift Valley.

"You have community A and community B coming together to reconstruct the burnt hut, so it is a little bit like burying the hatchet."

Resettling around 500,000 Kenyans whose lives were uprooted was always going to be a mammoth task and remains work in progress.

Worryingly, it is not the only enormous hurdle that needs to be overcome - Kenya is in desperate need of reconciliation and justice in order to prevent a repeat of the violence at the next election, due in 2012.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8298373.stm
Published: 2009/10/09 08:25:58 GMT© BBC MMIX


3-KENYA: Cholera kills 29 as water shortage bites

Photo: Noor Ali/IRIN
A drought reserve borehole in northeastern Kenya (file photo): Water scarcity has worsened a cholera outbreak in the north

LAISAMIS, 9 October 2009 (IRIN) - At least 29 people have died of cholera and hundreds more are being treated for cholera-related symptoms such as acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in the larger Turkana District in the northwest and in the eastern regions of Garbatulla and Laisamis, say health officials.

"Two people have died in Garbatulla, five in Laisamis, three in Turkana North, one in Turkana South and 18 in Turkana Central," said an official in Kenya's Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation.

The regions are not only facing an acute water shortage, due to a prolonged drought, but also have poor latrine coverage.In the past week, he said, a total of 246 AWD cases have been reported and are being treated as cholera due to confirmation of the disease.

Some 42 cases of cholera have been confirmed in the region. Laisamis is in the larger Marsabit District, a vast region stretching about 66,000 sqkm. Residents are forced to trek long distances to health centres.

David Kasanga, Laisamis medical officer, told IRIN that three of the deceased had "died at home before they could reach [the] nearest health facilities".

Kasanga said health workers had been deployed to the affected areas, and the local Elmolo health centre has been reopened to deal with the new outbreak.

He said tents had been set up to serve as temporary wards. "We have managed to get drugs but we need more assistance as [the drugs] might not be enough to handle the rising number of new cases," he said.

Mark Ekale, a local leader, told IRIN that families had been forced to spend more on healthcare. "People are selling relief food... so that they can afford to pay for transport to the nearest health facilities."

According to residents, the number of dead may be higher due to a lack of access to medical services.Laisamis Member of Parliament, Joseph Lekuton, said mobile clinics should be set up and additional health personnel sent to the area. Regions around Laisamis have experienced recurrent cholera outbreaks in the past six months. At least 834 cholera cases were reported in a previous outbreak there in June.

According to Lekuton, disease is just one of many challenges affecting local residents. "This is the worst year for Laisamis residents. Many have died as a result of hunger and disease[s] like cholera and malaria," he said, calling for more control initiatives. "...We must [prevent] more deaths and [the] burying of people every day," he said.

Like most of northern Kenya, Marsabit is facing an acute water shortage due to a prolonged drought and last saw rain in May 2008. The water scarcity has been blamed for the outbreak as residents are being forced to use water from sources that are believed to have been contaminated.

"The cholera outbreaks move from one locality to another but have similar causes - water problems, poor hygiene and a low latrine coverage," said the health ministry official, adding that the government was trucking in water and providing hygiene education. "We are encouraging affected residents to build and use latrines."

na-aw/mw

Themes: (IRIN) Environment, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition, (IRIN) Water & Sanitation
[ENDS]

Report can be found online at:http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86514


Provincial
4-Storm wrecks havoc in Kisumu

By KNAPosted Friday, October 9 2009 at 18:19

A storm that hit Kisumu town on Friday night destroyed buildings, roads and power lines. Ministry of Lands buildings had their roofs and walls destroyed after trees uprooted by the winds fell on them.

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The storm that lasted for about two hours, also fell trees near the provincial police headquarters, blocking Nehru Road, which leads to the police station. According to residents interviewed by KNA, the storm started at around 6.30pm.

Blocked roads
Roads leading to the Kisumu East DC’s office and Maseno University Plaza were also blocked by the fallen trees. Kisumu Municipal Council workers had a hectic time removing telephone booths, cutting the fallen trees, and clearing the roads.

A boda boda cyclist who was interviewed, said they were finding it difficult to operate as usual because most of the roads in the town were blocked. A family neighbouring the local DC’s residence was counting losses after the roof of their house and their saloon car were damaged by a huge tree.

About two weeks ago, another storm struck the town [that story below], causing damage to business premises including the ultra modern Nakumatt Mega City Plaza. Meanwhile, Nyanza Provincial Commissioner Francis Mutie has advised people staying in flood prone lowlands to move to higher grounds to avoid loss of lives and property in the event of a heavy downpour.

Mr Mutie said evacuation centres have been identified, adding that relief support for those who may be affected by the expected El Nino rains will be offered by the government and other agencies.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/regional/-/1070/670448/-/7ngqkj/-/


Five Die As El Nino-Like Floods Hit Kisumu
Date: Wed 23rd September 2009
Mediahouse: East African Standard
Page: 3

Heavy rains pounded parts of Nyanza Province for the second time in 24 hours as flood-related death toll climbed to five. The region braced for worse times ahead as the downpour appeared to be an early arrival of the predicted El Nino phenomenon. Police yesterday confirmed four of the deaths had occurred in Kisumu on Sunday night while the fifth victim, a ten-year-old child, drowned in a swollen river in Migori.

A woman and her children head to their submerged home in Kapuothe Village, Kisumu Town East District. Area OCPD Nicholas Musilu said the four earlier victims were from Maseno, Kibos, Nyamasaria and Bandani areas. The body of a man who drowned in river Kisat was yesterday recovered on the shores of Lake Victoria. Police identified him as Hagai Mugingo, 39.

Loved ones
As families mourned the deaths of their loved ones, most Nyanza residents were fearing the worst as thunder cracked and another downpour loomed last evening. The Kenya Red Cross Society officials yesterday described the flooding as worrying and called for emergency preparedness. A senior Kenya Red Cross official Elijah Muli said the organisation's officials have been dispatched to the affected areas.

"Initial surveys indicate things are bad and many people may need to be evacuated. They will also need drugs and food," he said. He identified most affected areas as Kisumu and its environs, Ombeyi and Miwani in Nyando. At least two schools in North East Kano - Magare and Nyalenda - had their roofs blown off by the winds, area MP Ayiecho Olweny confirmed.

Prof Olweny said the floods had also affected several families. At Nanga and Wasikosi near Kisumu, more than 20 homes were submerged as heavy rains continued to pound the region. The rains have destroyed roads and disrupted electricity supply in many parts of the town. Residents of Kiboswa went without electricity for the second day yesterday after the Sunday downpour.

Two TV stations - KTN and NTV - were off air in Kisumu since Monday after a power supply to a transmission mast at Kiboswa was cut off by the rains. Nakumatt supermarket managers and several other shop owners at the Mega City mall were still counting their loses following the Sunday night flash floods that left goods worth millions of shillings soaked in water.Uprooted trees

At Nyamasaria, Dunga and Nyalenda areas residents had to use gumboots to access their houses. The rains have also uprooted trees, ripped off roofs and damaged perimeter fences.

A woman residing at Nanga village, Ms Janet Oyugi, broke into tears after her semi-permanent house was brought down by the storm. "I am now homeless and my child cannot go to school. I have to put up with friends. It's such a terrible encounter," she said amid sobs. Nyando DC Isaiah Tonui said the Government was on high alert to assist families likely to be displaced as the torrential rains are predicted to continue.

Nyanza PC Francis Mutie said the Government was closely monitoring the situation. In some places families had started preparation to relocate to higher grounds. From Nyatike on the Kenya-Tanzania border through Karachuonyo and Kano in Nyando to Siaya and Bondo, worried villagers have been staring into the sky for signs of rains in the flood-prone region.

Last month, the Kenya Metrological Department reported that Kenyans should brace for El Nino type of rainfall, although not as severe as the one that occurred ten years ago. The department predicts heavy storms, especially during the peak in November. In areas like Kano and Nyando, dry weather and heavy rainfall are a menace. "It has not rained for the last three months, and as a result most of the crops have dried up," says Ernest Nyaidi, a retired civil servant.

Extreme cases
Nyaidi adds that crops such as vegetables have withered, and in some extreme cases dried up. He says cabbages often thrive with fairly abundant rainfall, but the current drought hurt farmers. "I am fortunate to have a piece of land uphill. If the El Nino rainfall comes, I will put up house on this parcel of land," Nyaidi, 61, says.

http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/multimedia/?StoryID=267144

US President Obama awarded Nobel Prize for Peace

Nobel prize win 'humbles' Obama

US President Barack Obama has said he was "surprised and deeply humbled" to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, less than 10 months into his presidency.

Speaking at the White House hours after the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee named him as a surprise winner, he said the award should be a "call to action".

The world faced challenges that "cannot be met by one person or by one nation alone," Mr Obama said.

The committee said he won for efforts to boost diplomacy and co-operation.

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the Norwegian committee said in a statement.

"His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

Long-term goals
Standing in the Rose Garden to make his first public statement since being woken early by aides bringing news of the award, Mr Obama stressed that his win was just the beginning of his work.

MARDELL'S AMERICA “ There was already a huge weight of responsibility on Obama's shoulders, and this medal hung round his neck has just made it a little heavier ”
Mark Mardell BBC North America editor

He said he did not feel he deserved to be in the company of some of the "transformative figures" who had previously received the award.

Some of his aims, particularly the goal of universal nuclear disarmament, would be difficult to achieve even within his lifetime, let alone his presidency, Mr Obama said.

And he sought to deflect some of the global surprise at his win, describing the award as "affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations".

"I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honour specific achievements," he said.

"It's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st Century."

Public bemused
There were a record 205 nominations for this year's peace prize. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Chinese dissident Hu Jia had been among the favourites.

ANALYSIS Paul Reynolds BBC News, London
The award is certainly unexpected and might be regarded as more of an encouragement for intentions than a reward for achievements. After all, the president has been in office for a little over eight months and he might hope to serve eight years. His ambition for a world free of nuclear weapons is one that is easier to declare than to achieve and a climate control agreement has yet to be reached. Indeed, the citation indicates that it is President Obama's world view that attracted the Nobel committee - that diplomacy should be founded "on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population".

Instead the committee chose Mr Obama, who was inaugurated less than two weeks before the 1 February nomination deadline.

His win surprised most observers, eliciting gasps from those assembled in the room when his name was read out.

And while there was support for the decision, notably from world leaders, many others expressed their scepticism.

In the US the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, asked a simple question: "What has President Obama actually accomplished?"

Attributing Mr Obama's win to his "star power", Mr Steele said it was "unfortunate" he "outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights".

A large majority of remarks from BBC viewers, listeners and website users also expressed surprise.

Senior Democratic figures rebuffed Mr Steele's remarks, with former Vice-President Al Gore, a joint recipient of the award in 2007, calling Mr Obama's win "extremely well deserved".

"I think that much of what he has accomplished already is going to be far more appreciated in the eyes of history," Mr Gore said.

But spokesmen from anti-US Islamist groups such as the Taliban and Hamas focussed on the present, saying they had seen no evidence yet of improvements in security for people in their regions and as such opposed the award.

'New climate'
Since taking office in January, President Obama has pursued an ambitious international agenda including a push for peace in the Middle East and negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.

Asked why the prize had been awarded to Mr Obama less than a year after he took office, Nobel Committee head Thorbjoern Jagland said: "It was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve".

THE SELECTION PROCESS

• Those qualified to nominate candidates include members of national governments, international judiciary, academics and previous prize winners
• Five Norwegians are chosen by Norway's parliament to sit on the Nobel Committee
• The committee compiles a shortlist of between five and 20 candidates
• The shortlist is considered by the Nobel Institute's permanent advisers, mainly Norwegian academics
• The Nobel Committee chooses the winner
• Details of the nominations and selection process are kept secret for 50 years

He specifically mentioned Mr Obama's work to strengthen international institutions and work towards a world free of nuclear arms. The statement from the Nobel Committee said Mr Obama had "created a new climate in international politics".

However, critics say he has failed to make breakthroughs. Domestically, Mr Obama has been working to tackle an economic crisis and win support for healthcare reform.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a former winner, said the prize was a way of encouraging the US leader early in his presidency.

Mr Obama is the first US president to win the prize since former US President Jimmy Carter in 2002. Theodore Roosevelt won the prize in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won it in 1919.

The prize was invented by the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel, and was first awarded in 1901.

As Sweden was at the time united with Norway, Nobel designated the parliament in Norway to elect the peace prize committee. Swedish academies are responsible for other prizes.

The prize-giving ceremony for the peace award is due to take place on 10 December in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. Mr Obama has indicated he will attend.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8299824.stm
Published: 2009/10/09 17:38:37 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Today's headlines - Fri 9/11/2009

CONTENTS:
1 - AFRICA: Condoms: the hole truth
2 – CISA: food shortages in Kenya
4 - KENYA: Anger and anxiety over "leaky" condoms
5 - KENYA: Water shortages lead to cholera outbreaks


1 - AFRICA: Condoms: the hole truth
NAIROBI, 10 September (IRIN) - Having a condom split during sex is not much fun, but the idea that millions of condoms may be faulty before they are opened is the stuff nightmares are made of. Huge quantities of condoms are imported into Africa as part of national prevention campaigns, but over the years several brands have been found to be faulty, hampering prevention efforts and highlighting the need for better quality control.
TANZANIA - In May 2002 the government blocked a shipment of 10 million condoms imported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) for nationwide free distribution after a US laboratory confirmed defects in samples submitted for testing http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=31219
UGANDA - In 2004 consumers complained that a widely used government-subsidised brand of condoms, 'Engabu' (meaning shield in some local languages), had a "bad odour". Tests by the National Drug Authority showed that the condoms did not meet safety standards and recalled them, causing a scandal and a national condom shortage. All condoms imported into Uganda have since had to undergo thorough pre- and post-shipment quality testing. Although the government relaunched the Engabu brand in 2006, it was received with scepticism and in 2007 the National Medical Stores announced that 40 million Engabu condoms were likely to expire in stores because of low demand.
SOUTH AFRICA - In 2007 the health department recalled 20 million government condoms after media reports alleged that Sphiwe Fikizolo, a testing manager at the South African Bureau of Standards, responsible for quality testing all locally produced condoms, had accepted money from the manufacturer in return for certifying defective condoms http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74011 The government embarked on a public awareness campaign to restore public confidence in the brand, but experts said the scandal was a setback to the national prevention campaign.
ZAMBIA - In August 2009 the Zambia Bureau of Standards halted the sale of two brands of condoms - Hot and Evolution - after they failed to pass the electronic freedom-from-holes test.
KENYA - In September 2009 a local television station aired footage showing that locally stocked brands of condoms had failed the electronic freedom-from-holes test, and several spouted leaks when filled with water. The government said it was testing all imported brands of condoms; officials assured the public that 75 percent of condoms used in Kenya were government brands and met quality standards set by the UN World Health Organization. kr/he[ENDS]

2 – CISA: food shortages in Kenya

KENYA: Catholic Charity Responds as Food Aid Appeals Continue
NAIROBI, September 11, 2009 ( CISA) -The Catholic Relief Services is supporting Church partners to help thousands of families survive the food crisis and drought afflicting millions of people in Kenya, as humanitarian organizations appeal for more food aid.

The government estimates that more than 10 million people are food insecure. This week, the UN World Food Programme appealed for Sh. 17 billion, saying at least 3.8 million Kenyans need emergency food aid.

Food prices remain more than 100 percent above normal. A new report by Oxfam says a combination of falling household income, rising prices, and poor governance is making life a misery for 60 percent of Nairobi’s residents who live in slums. Up to 90 percent of them have been forced to reduce the amount of food they eat.

"Families are desperate for food. Child malnutrition rates are rising, children are being removed from school and hired out as day laborers, and families are cutting back the size and number of meals - with many now eating just once a day," said Ruth Nguyo, CRS Kenya's agriculture project officer.

The charity is implementing three projects - supported by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, CRS private funds, and the Foods Resource Bank – targeting more than 100,000 hardest hit Kenyans in the southeast of the country.

Eligible families receive cash vouchers to buy essential items, including food, seeds and farming tools. The OFDA project is also providing 15,000 farming households with seeds for planting. In return, these families are improving water and soil conservation on their farms and communal land by building dams, ponds, trenches and terraces.

The CRS portion of the OFDA project is a three-year Arid and Marginal Lands Recovery Project being implemented by a consortium led by Food for the Hungry. It is being implemented the Diocese of Malindi (Malindi and Tana River Districts), the Diocese of Meru (Tharaka District), and the Diocese of Machakos (Makueni District). 15,000 total families will be assisted.

The privately funded Food Crisis Response Project is targeting 2,300 families in the dioceses of Kitui (Kitui District) and Garissa (Tana River District).

The five-year Foods Resource Bank Project, serving 1,250 families, is ot be implemented through the Diocese of Kitui in Mwingi District.

From CISA, see below



4 - KENYA: Anger and anxiety over "leaky" condoms
NAIROBI, 10 September (IRIN) - Kenyan AIDS authorities are struggling to restore public confidence in condoms after an alarming news report recently showed locally stocked brands to be defective. KTN, a local TV station, showed http://www.ktnkenya.tv/media1.php?id=7402 the condoms, purchased from vendors in the capital, Nairobi, being tested by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). Subjected to an electronic "freedom from holes" test, which involves filling them with water, the condoms sprung leaks. "This will seriously affect the confidence of those who have always been consistent in using them - how do members of the public know what brand is safe and which is not?" asked Hilary Okoth, a 30-year-old Nairobi resident. "Imagine a woman who is supposed to negotiate condom use as they are always told," he added. "The man will simply tell her 'those things leak, it doesn't make a difference'." Hot, one of the condom brands featured in the news report, was recently banned in Zambia after the Zambia Bureau of Standards found holes in them. Assurances According to Nicholas Muraguri, director of the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Programme, NASCOP, most condoms imported into the country are of sound quality. "I want to assure Kenyans that those are isolated cases and the condoms that are distributed by the government - which account for 75 percent of what is used - are actually of high quality and pass WHO [UN World Health Organization] standards," he told IRIN/PlusNews. KEBS - responsible for quality control of products sold in Kenya - does not routinely test imported condoms. "We cannot deny there are cases of low quality condoms in the country because they have not been passing through the Kenya Bureau of Standards for quality assurance," Muraguri said. "The government is joking; how can a product that involves saving human life be allowed into the country without going through rigorous quality tests?" Okoth questioned. Muraguri said NASCOP had asked KEBS to test all brands of condoms sold in Kenya for safety, with a view to banning those found to be defective; the bureau is due to release a preliminary report on 11 September. "I think we need to do more in monitoring the condoms that enter the country," said James Gesami, assistant minister of public health. "We are endangering the lives of our people by letting condoms that cannot stand the quality test into the market." Condoms are a key component of Kenya's HIV prevention strategy, with at least 160 million distributed in the country annually by the government. ko/kr/mw[ENDS]

5 - KENYA: Water shortages lead to cholera outbreaks

NAIROBI, 10 September (IRIN) - Cholera, measles and polio outbreaks are ongoing in parts of northern Kenya due to a water shortage brought on by drought, and an influx of Somali refugees in the east, say officials. "About 13 people are reported to have died of cholera in Turkana [in the northwest] since 20 August," Shahnaaz Sharif, the director of public health, told IRIN, adding that five of the deaths occurred in hospital while the rest have been reported by villagers. New cases are being reported in the Turkana divisions of Kalokol and Kerio, Sharif said. "The worry is [that] they [Turkana residents] are using water from the Ferguson Gulf, in Lake Turkana, which is contaminated," he said. A broken-down water pump has been repaired to provide clean water. The area also has low latrine cover, contributing to improper waste disposal. In the capital Nairobi, three cholera cases were reported in the eastern Dandora area seven days ago. "This was caused by the use of water from a well that was sunk close to a latrine," he said. Dysentery cases are also being reported 250km from the northeastern Laisamis area, where a previous cholera outbreak was reported. So far, more than 600 cholera cases have been reported in the affected Turkana divisions, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) health coordinator for Kenya, Vincent Kahi, told IRIN. "Lack of water for Kalokol, Turkana, is the main driver of the disease," Kahi said. He said NGO partners, with the Health Ministry, were distributing chlorine for water treatment and repairing infrastructure. The IRC is helping to provide medicine and staff to help in the early diagnosis of the disease. Polio and measles cases A total of 18 polio cases have been reported since February in Turkana. The last case was diagnosed four weeks ago, according to the health ministry, which is carrying out control campaigns. "It looks like it [polio] was imported from Sudan in the north," said Kahi, adding that cross-border movement was rampant in the area. Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. It can strike at any age, but mainly affects children younger than three. Before the recent outbreak, the last polio case in Kenya was recorded more than 20 years ago. In neighbouring Kakuma refugee camp, two measles cases have been confirmed, he said; there are three more suspected cases. This has prompted intensified surveillance and screening of new refugee arrivals. Some 12,000 Somali refugees are being transferred to Kakuma from Dadaab camp in the northeast to ease congestion there. Up to 16 August, some 62 measles cases were reported in the Hagadera camp in Daadab, he said adding that currently, there are new suspected cases in the Dagahaley camp. Dadaab's three refugee sites house at least 284,306 refugees. This is triple Dadaab's capacity. Measles, which is also a contagious viral disease, affects mostly children and is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. Initial symptoms include a cold and fever, followed by a fine red rash. A nationwide measles vaccination campaign is scheduled to begin on 19 September. The Kenya Red Cross Society is supporting water and sanitation projects in drought-hit northeastern Ijara and Isiolo in the east to reduce the vulnerability of pastoralist communities to recurrent droughts. KRCS staff and volunteers are also training community members in hygiene and are continuing to distribute relief aid to 573,343 beneficiaries in the region. aw/mw[ENDS]

What's hot? Check IRIN's most popular articles: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=73277© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org[This item comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Reposting or reproduction, with attribution, for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Terms and conditions: http://www.irinnews.org/copyright.aspxIRIN partners: Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, UNEP and the IHC. More information: http://www.irinnews.org/donors.aspxThis mail is from a non-reply e-mail address. Contact IRIN at: feedback@irinnews.org. Revise or stop your subscription: http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions ]


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Kenyan on ethics of aid - Speaking of Faith

This story airs today on Th 27 Aug:

Speaking of Faith
The Ethics of Aid: One Kenyan's Perspective:
We explore the complex ethics of global aid with a young writer from Kenya, Binyavanga Wainaina. He is among a rising generation of African voices who bring a cautionary perspective to the morality and efficacy behind many Western initiatives to abolish poverty and speed development in Africa.
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/ethicsofaid-kenya/

The podcast & transcript are now available.

Blessings,
Mary Kay

Today's headlines - Mon 8/24/2009

Drought worsens, even in central highlands; food insecurity worries rise nationwide. (Excellent maps of food insecurity with the first IRIN story link)

Meanwhile mabwana wakubwa talk talk about plans to demand climate change reparations from wealthy nations, at meetings in Ethiopia...

More stories from the Daily Nation:

Raila-Ruto rift widens further
Ruto denies rift with PM Odinga
The Dark Legacy
Keep off Mau, Raila tells Moi
Blood gemstones of Tsavo: How famous British miner met his death
Cracks deepen in ODM
Kenya’s population hits the 40m mark
Public holiday over Kenya census
Too shy to face a woman
Battle over new city decongestion plan

Kenyan PM calls G8's $20 billion food pledge "peanuts"
Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:03am GMT

RIMINI, Italy (Reuters) - A pledge of $20 billion by the G8 to fight hunger is a good start but pales compared to the amounts rich countries are spending to tackle the financial crisis, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said on Sunday.

"Maybe the $20 billion decided at the last G8 is peanuts compared to these amounts," Odinga said at a news conference on the opening day of the Friendship Meeting, a political and cultural conference in the Italian town of Rimini.

"I don't know if it will be enough, but it's an excellent start," he added.

In July, the Group of Eight wealthy nations said at a summit in L'Aquila, Italy that it would spend $20 billion over three years, $5 billion more than initially expected, to spur agricultural investment in poorer countries to combat hunger.

© Thomson Reuters 2009.

Africa seeks climate change cash

Representatives of 10 African countries are meeting in Ethiopia to try to agree a common position on climate change, months before a crucial UN meeting.

They are expected to renew demands for billions of dollars in compensation for Africa because of damage caused by global warming.

And they are likely to ask rich nations to cut emissions by 40% by 2012.

African nations are among the lightest polluters but analysts say they will suffer the most from climate change.

BBC science reporter Matt McGrath says the move to agree a common negotiating platform for Africa recognises the continent's failure to make its voice heard on the debate.

'Dismal co-ordination'
Kenya's environment secretary, Alice Kaudia, told the BBC that the continent had to learn from other countries' mistakes.

"One single country will not solve its environmental problems on its own, it will need partners, and that's why it's very important that there's that unified common position," she said.

"The development of Africa should not go alongside the same mistakes that the developed world already made - to have these high emissions that are now affecting the whole world."

HAVE YOUR SAY

We're all suffering at the moment, we all have obligations to the environment, we all need to take more responsibility. Why is Africa, yet again, a special case? Malcolm Orton

One of the documents prepared for the meeting refers to the "dismal co-ordination" of the African negotiation process.

So far, delegations from individual countries have had limited success in making the case that Africa needs special help to cope with climate change.

The "representatives and experts" of African Union (AU) leaders - who include environment and agriculture ministers from the 10 countries - are meeting in Addis Ababa under Libyan chairmanship in an attempt to change this.

Delegates from powerhouses South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are among those expected to attend.

They will discuss a suggestion that developed countries should cut emissions by at least 40% by 2020, and that richer nations should provide $67bn (£40bn) a year to help the least well-off cope with rising temperatures.

They will also attempt to agree a set of key ideas in order to help national delegations to the UN negotiations in Copenhagen this December to present a co-ordinated position.

The Copenhagen conference will try to negotiate a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, elements of which expire in 2012.

Correspondents say the US, China, India and the EU will have the greatest sway at the UN conference.

But African leaders will be hoping that by speaking with one voice at Copenhagen, their negotiating position can be significantly enhanced.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8217449.stm
Published: 2009/08/24 11:39:33 GMT© BBC MMIX



KENYA: Food keeps schools open
Photo: Noor Ali/IRIN
Children gather around a structure from which food is served in school: Officials in say school-feeding programmes in arid and semi-arid parts of Kenya has prevented possible deaths from starvation among the pupilsWAJIR, 21 August 2009 (IRIN) - The drought that has hit various regions of Kenya has created serious food shortages, but despite this, schools in Wajir South District have remained open, an official said. "We are concerned [about] the current drought and hunger," said Ibrahim Mohamed, the district’s early childhood education officer. "It is severe - the worst in recent years. Both children and parents are affected [but the] education sector is most affected." The provision of breakfast porridge and lunch for children in pre-primary school has, however, helped the schools stay open - and even enroll an average of 50 to 100 new pupils since May, Mohammed added. Moses Mwangi, district education officer, said 24 primary schools in Wajir South, with more than 5,000 pupils, were operating at full capacity courtesy of school-feeding programmes. Officials in Garissa and Ijara said school-feeding programmes in arid and semi-arid parts of Kenya had prevented possible deaths from starvation among the pupils. "It is important for such children to stay in school and benefit from the feeding programme because the country is hard-hit not only by drought but also high food prices," said Gabrielle Menezes, information officer for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Kenya. WFP is feeding at least 900,000 children during the school holiday month of August, mostly in Kenya's arid and semi-arid (ASAL) regions. "School children in urban areas such as slums in Nairobi and Mombasa are not covered in this programme because we are using funding for our emergency operations in ASAL areas," Menezes explained. Altogether, she said, WFP was providing food aid for at least 3.2 million Kenyans under its general food distribution programme. However, it has received only 35 percent of the funding it needs from August through January 2010, and so needs to raise another US$124 million. "We are asking donors to contribute so that we don't have to cut the food rations," Menezes said.

Photo: FEWS
Estimated food security conditions across the country, for July-September 2009

Water shortages According to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), the worsening drought in ASAL areas has also led to severe water shortages, which is likely to compromise safe water and sanitation services. This could trigger waterborne diseases, increase resource-based conflict, disease outbreaks and displacement of people due to high mobility among pastoral communities. "Kenya is grappling with a convergence of limited resources, inflation of food prices, looming low grain harvest, high malnutrition levels, deteriorating livestock body conditions and increased vulnerability of the urban poor," KRCS said in its Drought Operations Update for July. According to a joint assessment by the government and its partners, the drought has affected the northern pastoral cluster – Turkana, Moyale, Marsabit and Samburu districts; and the eastern pastoral cluster – Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo and Tana River districts. It has also affected the agro-pastoral cluster – Baringo, West Pokot, Laikipia and Kajiado districts; the eastern marginal agricultural cluster – Tharaka, Mbeere, Makueni, Mwingi and Kitui districts; and the coastal marginal agricultural cluster – Taita Taveta, Malindi, Kilifi and Kwale districts.

na-js/eo/mw

Theme(s): (IRIN) Children, (IRIN) Food Security

[ENDS]

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=85800

KENYA: Selling the cows to feed the children

Photo: Mike Pflanz/IRIN
Up to 50 percent of cows in some parts of northern kenya could die if the drought persists (file photo)

KISERIAN, 21 August 2009 (IRIN) - A few months ago, cattle traders in Kiserian livestock market in Kajiado District, southwest of Nairobi, could sell a cow for up to KSh15,000 [US$200], but that has drastically changed.

"There is a lot of hunger; most pastoralists are selling their cattle at the market to buy other foodstuffs," Jane Sayena from Magadi, another town in Kajiado, said.

Four years of consecutive poor rains, experts say, have pushed communities in Kenya's eastern, northern and southern pastoral zones to the limit, finally forcing them to hurriedly sell off their herds for a pittance.

"It hurts to see the pastoralists selling their cows for as little at KSh500 [$6.50]," Sayena told IRIN. "Sometimes [they] cry... but it is better than seeing animals dying at home."

Livestock accounts for 80 percent of household income in some pastoral areas. Since the drought, the pastoralists have tried to cope by feeding their goats wet paper and slaughtering new-born calves to save lactating animals, but most animals have ended up in poor health.

Others tried to migrate to other areas, but the situation has grown worse. In northern Marsabit and Samburu, up to 20 percent of cattle and sheep have died - and the figure could rise to 50 percent if the drought continues, according to the Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG).

"If I sell even one cow, the children can at least get food," said John Ole Kopito, a pastoralist from Kajiado, which borders Tanzania to the southwest. For a month, Ole Kopito has visited the livestock market every morning to try to sell a cow. None of the six cows he kept at a stall inside the market had sold during the month. "It is costly keeping the cows here but I cannot take them back home as there is no grass," the father of six said. At the market, he pays to keep the cows fed and watered.

Photo: Anthony Morland/IRIN
A Turkana girl waters camels from a hole dug in a dry river bed near Kenya’s border with Uganda (file photo): Even camel milk production has gone down as the drought intensifies

Most affected Kenya's pastoral regions have experienced rainfall deficits of up to 50 percent, the KFSSG said in a 20 August assessment. Even where some rains have fallen, environmental degradation due to charcoal burning, for example, has reduced the rate at which surface water sources recharge and pastures regenerate.

Overall, food security had been affected by poor pasture, deteriorating terms of trade, near total crop failure in agro-pastoral zones and acute water shortages. In West Pokot along the Ugandan border, for example, six goats will buy only a 90kg bag of dry maize. Nationally, maize prices have doubled due to poor yields. Pastoralists source more than half their food from the market, so they are very susceptible to market and climatic shocks.

"The most likely scenario before the onset of the next season is worsening food insecurity in the pastoral areas," KFSSG warned. Milk availability had also fallen and as a result, malnutrition levels have risen. Traditionally, production by the hardier camels would remain the main source, but even that has declined by up to 70 percent per day.

"We are being forced to skip lunch to have supper," said Joseph Ole Ntiyoine, a resident of Magadi. "We are also substituting ugali [a maize meal] for uji [maize porridge] to make ends meet... milk is now history in my house."

Ole Ntiyoine's herd has been reduced to 60 from 118. On a typical day, his family of four has black tea for breakfast and ugali mixed with cooking fat for lunch or supper.

Vouchers According to Louise Finan, regional communications officer for Concern Worldwide, most people in drought-affected regions have to rely on food aid. Concern is providing Plumpy’nut to severely malnourished children and supporting feeding sites for severely malnourished children and pregnant and lactating mothers, Finan told IRIN.

Working with local partners, it is also providing food vouchers in Kajiado, Marsabit and Moyale. Some 1,350 households will benefit in Moyale until December, along with 500 in Marsabit. Another 1,200 in Kajiado are waiting for a second round of vouchers. The pastoralists are also being supported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Projects under the Emergency Response Fund have received funding for destocking and meat distribution in Isiolo and Marsabit. According to KFSSG, sustained poor rains could undermine the very viability of pastoralist livelihoods, which have been hit by drought, migration, conflict and disease.

"People are stressed. Every time you go home, the cows have died, there's no food," Ole Ntiyoine said. "The cows are our [source of livelihood]... if the cows die, that is it."

aw/eo/mw

Themes: (IRIN) Early Warning, (IRIN) Environment, (IRIN) Food Security, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition, (IRIN) Migration, (IRIN) Natural Disasters

[ENDS]

Report can be found online at:http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85806


KENYA: Peter Wangai, "This is the longest dry spell we've experienced"
Photo: Jane Some/IRIN
Peter Macharia Wangai practises mixed farming in Lare division, Njoro districtLARE (NJORO), 20 August 2009 (IRIN) - Peter Wangai Macharia, a retired postal worker, has been a farmer in Njoro area of Kenya's Rift Valley province area since the 1990s. This year, he is not expecting any harvest, despite having planted maize, beans, sweet potatoes and vegetables during the long rains season between March and June 2009. He spoke to IRIN at his farm in Kiriri village, Lare division, on 17 August: "Before 1994, farming was a joy for most of us; it was profitable and the rains were regular; in fact I can say life was very good then. "Things started changing after 1994. Rain became erratic and the amounts sometimes were too little for the crops; sometimes we had good harvests, other times less than we expected. Things went from bad to worse in 2005 and from there it has been downhill all the way. We put in so much in terms of preparation and planting but we incurred huge losses at harvest time. "We are now experiencing the longest dry spell I have ever seen; we have had very little rain since 2007. The post-election violence [in early 2008, mainly in the Rift Valley] did not help much, because people fled their homes and some of them came to our area seeking refuge. This further strained the little agricultural produce we had. "I believe the cutting-down of trees in the [nearby] Mau forest has contributed to the poor rains in this area. Rivers and springs have dried up and many people have to travel long distances in search of water. I am lucky because I have built a large water tank to harvest rainwater but if the dry season persists, I will soon join the others in buying water. "This year, I have incurred such heavy losses that I don't even know where to start the recovery process. I am thinking of moving away from planting maize and beans; I have planted grass and I may increase the acreage under grass when the short rains come [expected between September and December]. Even the little cotton I had planted, I will get rid of it and plant grass, which will help feed the cows. "For us to plant maize next year, the government has to look into ways of helping us because we usually depend on the harvests to prepare for the next cropping season. The government will have to reduce fuel costs in 2010 to enable us to plough our land; it will also have to reduce fertilizer prices further. "I am appealing to the government and donors to provide relief food in the meantime as we have little to eat; the little maize the government distributes through the chief's office is not enough. "We also need help to re-stock the livestock that have died due to the drought, even if it is access to soft loans. Such loans would also help us with water supplies as more boreholes and dams are needed. "If things continue the way they are, my family is in trouble; the little pension I get from the postal corporation is not enough to feed my wife, our children and our grandchildren who also depend on us."

js/mw

Themes: (IRIN) Food Security

[ENDS]

Report can be found online at:http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85787