Images d'actualites

Rain began to fall over the drought-parched East African landscape in October 2009, marking the beginning of the rainy season. The previous rainy season of 2009 brought little moisture, and 2007 and 2008 had also been dry. The resulting drought shriveled crops and pastureland, dried rivers and reservoirs, and left nearly four million people in need of food aid in Kenya alone, said the World Food Program. This image shows the cumulative effect of the drought on vegetation just as the drought-breaking rains began to fall.

The image compares the growth of plants between July 21 and October 10, 2009, to the average growth observed over the same period from 2002–2008. The image shows how well plants were growing in the roughly two-and-a-half month period from the end of the poor rainy season early in the year to the beginning of the next rainy season in October. Green areas show better-than-average growth, tan areas reflect average conditions, and brown areas show poorer-than-average growth.

The drought had a punishing impact on the area’s vegetation. The brown tones across East Africa indicate that plants grew significantly less well between July and October 2009 than in previous years. The most severe impact of the drought is centered on northwest Kenya. October 2009 brought heavy rain to much of East Africa, and plants started to recover, said the World Food Program. The intense rain falling on dry, hard ground also triggered destructive floods, said the United Nations.

Satellites measure vegetation by recording the way plants reflect and absorb sunlight, which is an indication of how well they are photosynthesizing and growing. This image is based on vegetation data collected by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer on the NOAA-17 POES satellite.

SOURCE:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40959&src=imgrss

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 millionKFSSG – 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


SOURCE:

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-7WZ2Q8?OpenDocument


Full report in PDF file

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MUMA-7WZ2Q8/$File/full_report.pdf

Lindsey Hilsum of ITN reports from Kenya on the worst drought to strike the horn of Africa in more than a decade.


Across Northern Kenya and beyond, severe drought has killed hundreds of thousands of cattle and goats. Even the wildlife is suffering. In the bed of the Uasin Giru River, dry for 10 months now, elephants desperately forage for water. The younger elephants have perished, and the Buffalo. The impala are dying of thirst.

People are digging for water in the dry riverbed, trying to provide relief for both wild animals and domestic herds. They say they will have to dig down two meters to find a drop. The Samburu are trekking their cattle further and further, searching for pasture.

This land hasn't seen rain for nearly a year. The cattle are just scratching around for something to eat, those that have survived. What local people say is that the seasons have become unpredictable. And climate change experts say, probably, that's the way it's going to be from now onwards: more drought followed by flooding, more extreme weather patterns. And the people who live in this arid part of Africa, dependent on their animals, are going to have to adapt.

But they don't have the money to restock herds when they die, nor to build dams to conserve water when the rains come. The Kenyan government neglects this part of the country. And international appeals remain underfunded.

The village of Mpagas is one of the worst-hit. The people here are barely surviving.

LERIAN LAKANA, community elder: Since I was born, I have never seen such an extreme drought. Almost all the cattle have died, and the few still standing are dying now. I had 300 goats, but only 10 have survived. Of my eight donkeys, seven died, and the last one is dying now.

Millions of Kenyans need aid

LINDSEY HILSUM: The women and children hang about under a tree. There's not a lot else to do. The children show signs of malnutrition, and their mothers say, these days, they're often sick. They get a little food aid occasionally, but no health worker has been here to weigh and measure them. They're on their own.

A few miles away, in Namare, a government truck has arrived bringing maize flour. It's not enough, but at least it's something. The U.N. says nearly four million Kenyans urgently need food aid. The women here told me four children had died of hunger in the last month.

NKODELAN LETORE, Kenyan: The children are suffering a lot because there's no milk. The livestock we have now are all thin. We're struggling, and the children are sick, although some are surviving. The famine is bringing many problems to our community, especially to the children.

LINDSEY HILSUM: The Red Cross has come to do de-stocking. They buy skinny goats for 1,000 shillings, well above the market rate. The animals are taken to the rocks above the village for slaughter. The meat will be distributed to the most needy families in the community. This at least provides practical and immediate help.

LINDSEY HILSUM: The singing well, a Samburu tradition -- these days, the water table is so low, the well is four men deep. The animals are desperate, and so are the people.

Pastoralism remains the best use of this arid land, but, as herders from different communities and tribes have to travel further to find water and pasture, they encroach on each other's land. The Samburu warriors told me they were fighting the Turkana.

'Survival under threat'

LTACHAWUA LETELEPA, Kenyan: We fight over pasture, because of water, and also for land. Whatever the situation, animals must get water. We were even raided here at this water point. A woman was shot dead here on that day. Women don't go to fight, so we don't like these attack at the wells.

LINDSEY HILSUM: Pastoralists carry not only their traditional spears and knives, but Kalashnikovs. Dozens have been killed in recent months. If they lose all their animals, herders end up unemployed and poor in dusty townships.

JOSEPH LAPARIYO, Community Organization for Development Support: It becomes kind of a survival for the fittest. So, they fight over that scarce resource. And that just the scenario in Northern Kenya now.

LINDSEY HILSUM: A Chinese company has brought a water dowser to the side of the road, which they're building up to the Ethiopian border, welcome, if temporary relief. But a dead donkey lies submerged in the channel where people are scooping water to drink. Already, cholera has broken out nearby.

In the last few days, a little rain has fallen. But the remaining animals are so weak, they can't cope with the cold and wet. If the rains now expected are heavy, they won't restore the pasture, but bring floods and erosion, another curse.

People here don't know what to expect from the future. They just know that drought is more frequent and severe than ever before, and their very survival is under threat.

SOURCE :

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/july-dec09/drought_10-13.html


AVEC VIDEO:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/module.html?mod=0&pkg=13102009&seg=5



Drought hits Kenyans hard

There's no relief in sight for the severe drought in Kenya, which is exerting a devastating impact on both people and animals in the east African country.

Scores of animals have died of thirst, starvation and disease. People are suffering from malnutrition, especially children. The World Food Program estimates a sixth of the population need emergency food aid. It's scaled up feeding operations from 2 and a half million people to nearly 4 million. The UN organization has also appealed for over 300 million US dollars in donations to feed hungry Kenyans for the next six months.

Gabrielle Menezes, World Food Program officer,said, "The United Nations World Food Program has increased the amount of rations we are giving to children under five and their mothers. At this hospital the numbers of children who are severely malnourished have increased in the past couple of months. On average, they are receiving four children per week who are severely malnourished and need to be given special care in the hospital."

SOURCE:

http://english.cctv.com/program/worldwidewatch/20091015/104397.shtml



« Nos enfants sont malades »

Le Kenya est frappé par la sécheresse pour la quatrième année consécutive.


Article publie par UNICEF

SOURCE :

http://www.unicef.fr/contenu/actualite-humanitaire-unicef/nos-enfants-sont-malades-2009-10-19

UNICEF humanitarian action update: Kenya 22 Sep 2009

UNICEF URGENLY REQUIRES US$ 4.9 MILLION TO ADDRESS THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN AFFECTED BY DROUGHT AND FOOD INSECURITY


- Up to 3.8 million persons are in need of humanitarian assistance to meet basic food needs.

- 280,000 children under five require treatment for moderate and severe acute malnutrition.

- Lack of access to safe water contributes to increase in diarrheal diseases including cholera with more than 4,300 confirmed cases this year.


SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SKEA-7W5JGK?OpenDocument




As animals die, Kenyan families fear children will be next


SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/LSGZ-7W5F67?OpenDocument



Climate Change Brings Havoc On Kenyan Herders


AVEC PHOTOS :


http://www.demotix.com/news/climate-change-wreaks-havoc-kenyan-herders

http://www.demotix.com/news/search-water

http://www.demotix.com/news/drought-kenya

http://www.demotix.com/news/xxxxx

Photos publiees ce jour par le journal THE EAST AFRICAN

SOURCE :

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/659576/-/qyu2maz/-/index.html

La sécheresse asphyxie peu à peu le Kenya

La sécheresse qui sévit au Kenya est l'une des plus dures depuis au moins dix ans selon l'ONU. Le président Mwai Kibaki a déclaré il y a quelques mois que 10 millions de personnes souffraient de famine.

Une sécheresse qui a des conséquences sur la nourriture, mais également l'approvisionnement en eau et en électricité. Le pays est soumis à un rationnement très strict depuis début août, et si la saison des pluies ne débute pas bientôt, une vraie catastrophe est à prévoir, dans ce pays qui fait normalement figure de leader économique de la région.

Des champs de maïs totalement desséchés s'étendent à perte de vue dans les régions les plus fertiles du pays, comme la vallée du rift ou le Mont Kenya. Depuis un an, après quatre saisons de pluies ratées, la population est véritablement à genou, y compris dans les zones urbaines.

Selon le programme alimentaire mondial, 3,8 millions de personnes ont besoin d'une aide d'urgence, or, les fonds manquent particulièrement cette année à l'organisme de l'ONU.

La sécheresse a également entraîné un rationnement drastique en eau et en électricité. Le pays dépend en effet à 70 % de l'hydroélectricité, et depuis début juillet, plusieurs barrages vitaux ont dû être fermés.

Les parcs nationaux qui attirent des millions de touristes chaque année sont aussi touchés de plein fouet. Les lions, les éléphants ont connu un taux de mortalité très élevé par rapport à d'autres années.

Enfin, les conflits autour des ressources naturelles, vols de bétail entre communautés armées jusqu'aux dents, dans le nord-est du pays se sont multipliés provoquant plusieurs dizaines de morts depuis le début de l'année.

SOURCE :

http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/afrique/le-kenya-confronte-a-une-rude-secheresse-142801


Kenya Wildlife, People Hurt by Major Drought

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/photogalleries/kenya-animals-drought-pictures/



Death toll rises as drought worsens

The drought and famine affecting millions of people in Kenya continues to worsen and is taking lives of people and livestock.

The crisis has also led to inter-ethnic violence over scarce water and pasture among some pastoral communities. Last Tuesday, at least 30 people were massacred in a confrontation between the Pokot and Samburu in the northern Diocese of Maralal. Several other people, including children, were seriously wounded and are hospitalized.

FOR PICTURES, CHECK THIS PDF FILE :

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/13/1811927/15%20SEPTEMBER%202009.pdf

The government is buying livestock from herding communities but some of the animals are too weak to make the long journey to the Kenya Meat Commission slaughterhouses near Nairobi.

A Catholic missionary working in Maralal appealed for food aid from the government and humanitarian organizations to feed famine-stricken people in the arid area.

Yarumal Missionary Fr Vitner Vidal Marting, of Barsaloi Parish, told CISA that two boys had died of hunger in one of his sub-parishes.

Fr Marting said the situation is desperate and insecurity has increased because of the shortages. “As we speak, people are walking long distances begging for food and water in parishes,” he said.

Barsaloi Parish is trying to give food to pregnant women, children and the poor. “Even what we give is not enough and our food reserves are nearly empty.”

He expressed sadness that the parish is sometimes forced to send hungry people away empty-handed. People and animals are competing for the same water points.

“Migration of people to search for food, water and pasture for their animals is also causing a lot of conflicts among the Samburu, Pokot and Turkana communities,” Fr Marting said.

The people get little help from the government, which gave only 12 bags of maize three weeks ago.

The UN World Food Programme which had promised to give food every week has not done so and people are waiting.

SOURCE :

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=14854



Two million Kenyan children in urgent need of emergency food


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.


SOURCE :

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SODA-7VZPJW?OpenDocument



Kenya Red Cross in emergency aid appeal for $8 million for starving victims

The Kenyan Red Cross on Friday made an emergency appeal for close to 600 million shillings ($8 million) to assist 1.6 Kenyans facing starvation.

Speaking in Nairobi, Red Cross Secretary-General, Abbas Gullet said that the funds will be used to purchase medicine and food for the affected Kenyans most of whom are school children.

Prior to the emergency appeal, KRCS was included in the Horn of Africa appeal. Unfortunately, the HOA appeal was poorly funded.

On Tuesday, the government made an appeal for over 20 billion shillings ($266 million) to alleviate the biting famine in the country.

10 million Kenyans are currently facing starvation following failure of rains for two successive seasons.


SOURCE :

http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=show_article_eng&id_article=107111

http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=59940



Millions go hungry as Kenya drought wipes out cows

About four million Kenyans need food aid as the devastating drought sweeping across Kenya kills cattle en mass. Farmers in the worst –affected north of the east African country have lost more than 150,000 livestock, which has also led to a 40 per cent drop in maize production, the prim minister said. Pictures of hundreds of cow carcasses being tipped into a mass grave near Nairobi highlight the sheer scale of the disaster.

In an effort to rescue the situation the government last month announced a £4.1m plan to buy weak animals from farmers for £65 each. The animals were to be driven by truck to the Kenya meat commission depot in Athi River, a town near Nairobi, where they would be slaughtered and the meat sold to recoup costs. But many of the trucks taking the cows the hundreds of miles there did not have enough food or water onboard and large numbers arrived dead. Of those that did survive, many died soon after because of a lack of food and water in the holding bay. Kenya this week appealed to the international community to help it with emergency funds to prevent starvation."Let's appreciate the seriousness of the crisis and support where we can," Prime Minister Raila Odinga said at a key meeting in Nairobi, co-chaired by the World Bank. The situation was "extremely grave, " he said as at least 10 million Kenyans were facing hunger.

The crisis is being worsened by high food prices, caused by poor harvests. But poor planning has also left food stores lacking. In Kenya's markets, food prices have soared, as the poor harvests have led to a shortage of staple foods like white maize. And because of the shortage, prices are likely to climb higher, despite the fact that on the world market prices are much lower than last year. In some of the markets across Kenya the maize price has doubled over the past year. During the recent school holidays many schools that serve lunches in term time stayed open so that the schoolchildren could at least get one meal a day. There is also a serious water shortage, with some neighbourhoods in Nairobi going without for weeks at a time.

Even the country’s famous elephants are dying as rivers dry up and fields shrivel in game reserves. TV footage of elephant bones under the baking sun is another sign of how widespread the drought is. Nobody knows how many people have died because of it but the United Nations World Food program said 3.8 million Kenyans are at risk and need emergency food aid.

SOURCE :

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/kenyadrought.htm



Funding shortage may force UN agency to reduce food aid to Kenyans

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today that a shortage of donations will soon force it to reduce monthly rations to millions of Kenyans in need of urgent assistance due to a combination of drought and high food prices.

“The funding shortfall is so severe that we will have to start reducing the size of rations early next month – the hardship people are facing is going from bad to worse,” WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said in a statement.

WFP is currently distributing 2.6 million drought-affected Kenyans with food aid and hopes to increase that number by 1.2 million.

In parts of central Kenya, 50 per cent of shallow wells, boreholes and other water sources have dried up, and people walk up to 30 kilometres in search of water, according to the agency.

“Drought has left farmers with empty fields and the carcasses of dead cattle litter the land in some of the worst affected areas,” said Ms. Sheeran.

“Malnutrition rates are rising beyond emergency levels. And staple food prices – 100 per cent above normal – are beyond the reach of the hungriest people who are trying to feed their families.”

The agency said it has only received 8 per cent – $24 million – of the $301 million needed to feed 3.8 million people over the next six months.

SOURCE :

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32106&Cr=&Cr1=



WFP says may cut Kenya funding

“Life has never been easy for the poor in Kenya, but right now conditions are more desperate than they have been for a decade,” said WFP Kenya

SOURCE :

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/660376/-/uncbj7/-/

On part au Kenya où la sécheresse est dramatique. Le New York Times tire le signal d’alarme : « La terre a soif, et assèche les espoir du Kenya ». Le journal publie un reportage dans une région ou un agriculteur a vu ses bêtes mourir et sa lande se dessécher. Son enfant est mort de faim. C’est la plus terrible sécheresse depuis des années, elle engendre des tensions communautaires dans les campagnes, et des rixes dans les bidonvilles. « On est habitué quand il s’agit de l’Ethiopie, de la Somalie, ou du Soudant, mais pas à propos du Kenya » poursuit le quotidien…


Et pourtant, précise le quotidien kenyan The Nation c’est le risque d’inondation qui est maintenant redouté, par un effet secondaire d’El Nino. C’est en novembre que la situation sera catastrophique au Kenya, avec des craintes de glissements de terrains, d’épidémies : « la saison de la mort »


Les Kenyans sont conscients du paradoxe. Le Standard publie deux dessins en parallèle : Le même homme appelant la communauté internationale à l’aide, la première fois en raison de la sécheresse, la seconde fois en raison des inondations.


SOURCE :

http://www.france24.com/fr/20090908-revue-presse-internationale-rafale-bresil-sarkozy-rtbf-taille-irlande-traite-kenya-secheresse-inondation-chavez-mostra-


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/world/africa/08kenya.html?hp


http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/654638/-/view/printVersion/-/ecowtrz/-/index.html


ILLUSTRATION CI-DESSUS PUBLIEE PAR LE JOURNAL KENYAN "The Standard"

High levels of food insecurity continue


SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-7VG4FE?OpenDocument

WFP seeks aid to feed hungry Kenyans

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/645088/-/item/1/-/10rf48i/-/index.html



World Food Programme Seeks $230 Million for Kenya Aid

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=am53sUirZvIM


KENYA: WFP food appeal for 3.8 million in need

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85847


WFP seeks urgent assistance as Kenya sinks deeper into crisis

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET

http://appablog.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/wfp-seeks-urgent-assistance-as-kenya-sinks-deeper-into-crisis/


Kenya : Le PAM lance un appel à l'aide alors que la sécheresse s'aggrave

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET

http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID=19908&Cr=Kenya&Cr1=s%C3%A9cheresse


Kenyan herders devastated as long rains fail

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-7V9P2W?OpenDocument


Bleak outlook on food security

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Editorial/-/440804/645210/-/pjm54uz/-/


Le PAM cherche une aide d’urgence tandis que le Kenya s’enfonce davantage dans la crise

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://appablog.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/le-pam-cherche-une-aide-d%E2%80%99urgence-tandis-que-le-kenya-s%E2%80%99enfonce-davantage-dans-la-crise/


U.N. seeks $230M to fight Kenya hunger

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/08/27/kenya.drought/


Tens of thousands of head of livestock are dying in Kenya

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.casavaria.com/cafesentido/2009/09/01/4244/kenya-facing-major-drought-4-million-require-food-aid/

Kenya to Spend 24 Billion Shillings to Counter Drought Threats

Kenya announced a plan to tackle a drought which has hit food crop-growing regions, reduced hydro- electricity production and led to widespread water shortages.

The government will spend 24 billion shillings ($314 million) on “drought-crisis interventions” using contingency funds from the 2009-10 budget, borrowing and from “small” cuts to the budgets of various ministries.

“The nation is in a serious water, food and energy crisis,” Prime Minister Raila Odinga said in Parliament in Nairobi today, according to an e-mailed copy of his speech. “Thirst combined with hunger is taking a heavy toll on the lives and health of our people.”

Kenya’s corn production may fall 65 percent below consumption this year, putting 10 million Kenyans at risk of hunger or food insecurity, said Odinga.

In response, a duty waiver on imported corn was extended until June next year, from a previous end-date of mid-January. Farmers will receive free or subsidized fertilizers and seeds to boost their productivity, he said.

Armed forces and police officers will be deployed in 11 districts, which are facing imminent humanitarian disasters, to deliver emergency rations of food, water and medicine for up to three months, he said.

Drought has cut hydropower generation by 46 percent, leading to the start of scheduled power-rationing last week as generation dropped to 900 megawatts. This is 200 megawatts below peak demand, he said.

Kenya will maintain load-shedding until at least mid- October when 222 megawatts of new generating capacity will be added to the grid and the short rains start, he said.

In addition to a program of water rationing which started in May, the government is drilling more boreholes and buying 80 million liters (21 million gallons) of water every day from private owners of water resources, he said.

Most parts of Kenya have suffered from scanty rainfall since last year’s short-rain period, which normally runs from October to December, the country’s Meteorological Department said yesterday in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News.

SOURCE ;

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=al8yFTQFlI0Q


Kenya's Food Crisis Worsening

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET:

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-13-voa29.cfm