USAID Donates $126 million To Kenya As Food assistance

The United States government has donated at $126 million in support of Kenya’s drought relief efforts. The announcement comes following a visit to the country by First Lady Jill Biden.

According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the funds will help meet the urgent needs for approximately 1.3 million people across Kenya.

The assistance to Kenya comes amid an ongoing drought that has left more than four million people dire need of food with the number expected to rise to over five million by June this year.

After a fifth failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa, cumulative rainfall in Kenya is now less than 70 percent of the 30-year average across most of the country – exacerbating humanitarian needs. Communities in the arid and semi–arid land counties of Kenya are experiencing the worst effects of the drought, as farmers are losing crops and millions of livestock, and increasingly scarce resources, such as water, food, and pasture, are driving intercommunal tensions and violence.

President William Ruto has welcomed the announcement and expressed his gratitude for the generous support.