Millions of Kenyans are currently severely food insecure, a United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report says. According to OCHA, planned assessments in July and August are expected to confirm increased food insecurity, with some estimates projecting over 3.5 million people facing an acute shortage.
Approximately 1.7 million people are projected to be affected in the urban informal settlements because of the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“In urban areas, this insecurity is caused by increased food prices, decrease in incomes and loss of jobs,” the report says. The report, published on August 10, 2020, notes that female-headed households, who constitute 30.2 percent of the poor population, are at particularly high risk.
The report says the government and partners have identified 725,000 urban poor in Covid-19 hotspots, including Nairobi, Kwale, Kilifi, Mombasa, and Nakuru earmarked for relief.
“Workers in the informal economy may not be able to stay at home when they are sick without paid sick leave. They lack disposable cash and cannot stock food,” the report reads.
Among the urban poor, an estimated 50 percent of their daily income is spent on food and the pandemic has grossly affected them.
Currently, OCHA supports over 390,000 vulnerable Kenyans with food aid and is currently distributing food in nine counties. “Food distribution is ongoing in Mandera, Wajir, Turkana, Garissa, Tana River, Marsabit, Isiolo, Samburu, and Baringo,” notes the report, even as they decry insufficient funds.
