Three million nomads suffering from the famine; drought fuels conflicts

The famine in northern Kenya is continuing to worsen according to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). "The very existence of three million nomads in Kenya is acutely threatened," warned the head of the Africa section at the STP, Ulrich Delius, on Thursday in Göttingen. "In some areas the lives of up to 80 percent of the population are endangered." According to authorities, more than 80,000 people in the Ganze region are facing starvation, including 40,000 of the 50,000 inhabitants of the Bamba district. Their lives are in grave danger. The most seriously affected are the elderly and children under the age of five. Many of the schools that offer meals are experiencing huge onslaughts, as families become unable to feed their children.

"When nomads have to march for as long as 10 hours to find water for their livestock, the situation is severe," said Delius. "Many herders are living on wild fruits as their herds grow weaker. The nomads are in urgent need of more aid for themselves and their animals." It is feared that the situation will continue to escalate until October 2011, which is the earliest that new rainfall can be expected.

The drought is also causing an increase in disputes among nomads, as well as between nomads and farmers, competing for access to wells and pasture land. At least 121 people have been killed in these conflicts since January 2011 in northern Kenya. This has almost doubled the number of such deaths in comparison to the same period last year, when 68 were killed in the period from January to May 2010.

"The nomads are forced to sell their dying livestock," said Delius. The high number of distress sales has led to a dramatic drop in prices, so that the proceeds do not ensure the herdsmen's survival. There is an urgent need for animal feed, and sales of livestock must be subsidized to ensure that the herdsmen do not become completely dependent on international food aid.

Northern Kenya has always been an arid region, peopled by more than three million nomads because agricultural cultivation is extremely difficult. This latest drought is particularly hard on nomads of the Borana, Gabra, Garreh, Murulle, Degodia and Ajuran ethnic groups. Due to the effects of climate change, the intervals between drought catastrophes in the region are growing shorter. In the 1970s there were around 10 years between droughts, and by the 80s this had already shortened to 5 years. Today, droughts are recorded every two to three years. In 2009 roughly 80 percent of Kenyan nomad livestock was destroyed.