Experts call for a lasting solution to endless cycle of hunger up north

“I have no food. The drought is killing us,” laments frail Lobongia Ngimusung.

Ngimusung, from Lomwamosing village in Turkana East, has lost his entire livestock to the drought. The elderly man now depends on well-wishers for survival.

Worse still, he is alone. His family migrated in search of water and wild fruits, leaving him behind because he is too weak to travel.

“Life can only get tougher,” says the elderly man.

In neighbouring Loima, Iperi Nangordengo cuddles her 12-month-old baby. The child is too frail to crawl, walk, or play like other children her age. She has been diagnosed with acute malnutrition.

As Nangordengo waits for plumpynut supplements distributed by the Kenya Red Cross, her baby is restless.

The mother, 41, is anxious but patient. She tells The Standard that the therapeutic food may be the only thing standing between her child and her worsening illness.

“I used to depend on selling charcoal, but since the drought hit this area, I spend most of my time searching for water instead,” she explains.

As drought tightens its grip on Turkana and the northern counties of Isiolo, Mandera, Wajir, Samburu, Garissa, and Marsabit, desperation for food and water is deepening.

Data by Action Against Hunger shows that at least 3.3 million Kenyans are facing acute food insecurity.

Some 810,000 children and 116,797 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers require urgent assistance.

Humanitarian response is severely underfunded, limiting outreach services, commodity pipelines and lifesaving support.

Mandera, Wajir, Kwale and Kilifi have been clustered to be in the alarm phase, indicating critical drought conditions requiring urgent response.

Baringo, Tana River, Kajiado, Kitui, Lamu, Samburu, Laikipia, Narok, Turkana, Isiolo, Marsabit and Garissa are classified in the alert Phase.

According to the report, the situation is the result of three consecutive below-average  rainy seasons in October to December 2024, March to May 2025 and October to December 2025.

“The latest short rains experienced in October to December 2025 are documented to have delivered only 30 to 60 per cent of the long-term average and are classified among the driest since 1981,” reads the report in parts.

Long-term solutions remain elusive. In Turkana East, donor-supported projects once hailed as sustainable interventions have stalled.

The Morulem Irrigation Scheme, a 750-acre project supported by USAid, has slowed significantly after water levels in the River Kerio dropped.

The project had been envisioned as a buffer against recurring drought cycles, shifting from dependency on relief to food production. The project, once a promising agricultural hub, has been abandoned, leaving hundreds of families staring at hunger.

Dancliff Mbura, Advocacy, Communications and Partnership Coordinator at Action Against Hunger Kenya, says the solution to hunger does not lie in emergency relief alone.

“It lies in fixing broken systems before a crisis strikes,” he says.

Mbura says government and community efforts must be aligned through stronger policy implementation, infrastructure investment, early action and protection of livelihoods.

“In these regions, livestock is the wealth of the community,” he says. “Yet whenever drought strikes, pastoralists are blamed for not selling their animals.”

But selling livestock during drought is rarely profitable.

“You cannot keep telling communities to sell massive herds without creating ready markets,” he argues.

He notes the failure of early warning systems that should trigger timely action. Mbura says communities often receive alerts too late, when animals are already weak.

“We need to notify pastoralists early, when animals are still strong enough to walk,” he says.

Beyond emergency response, there is a need for lasting solutions to starvation in these regions, according to William Sifuna, an operations officer at the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU).

Sifuna says Kenya must shift from reactive responses whenever disasters such as drought strike to long-term, preventive interventions.

For instance, he proposes the establishment of irrigation schemes and the proper implementation of visionary irrigation models.

“Investors, for example, from China, can be brought on board to drill water, install powerful machinery, and construct dams in several locations,” says the disaster management expert, who trained in Israel.

The government, he says, should improve road networks in ASAL counties and strengthen security to ease service delivery.

Even with support from well-wishers and the government, Sifuna regrets that relief food is sometimes diverted for sale, highlighting the need for accountability.

“Do we ever audit food supplied to starving Kenyans? The newspapers report that food has been distributed, and you leave,” he says.

Sifuna notes that some counties have geographical features and climatic conditions that make conventional agriculture difficult.

However, with investment in water supply, hay production for livestock feeding can be adopted, with surplus sold commercially.

“In areas like North Eastern, when it rains, we have adequate grass. Within a month, hay can be harvested and stored for use during drought,” he says.

Sifuna emphasises the need for capacity building so that local communities can own and adopt agricultural projects, reducing dependency on aid.

Lack of money, he insists, should not be used as an excuse.

“Of course, we may not have sufficient funds, but with long-term initiatives, we can bring in experts from China and Israel. Israel is largely desert, yet when you step there, it is green because of irrigation,” he says.

He argues that the government continues to invest in expensive infrastructure projects such as roads and stadiums, and a similar commitment should be extended to people living in dry regions.

He is urging the government to work closely with researchers to identify crops and livestock varieties that can thrive in ASAL counties, enhancing food security through soil testing and scientific guidance.

On his part, PACIDA CEO Patrick Katelo says it is the responsibility of the government to ensure communities are adequately cautioned and prepared for disasters.

“We have been giving humanitarian aid, but is this sustainable? We need to move from giving fish to teaching people how to fish to reduce the tendency of dependency syndrome,” says Katelo.

Although the Equalisation Fund has supported some projects in ASAL communities, he notes that there is a need to allocate more resources to major, long-term projects that can provide lasting solutions to hunger.

For Kenya to move to an action point, Katelo observes the need to document and follow a clear chronological pattern of disasters affecting northern counties, whether drought, floods, or locust invasions, and plan accordingly.

“In 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, we experienced the most severe drought in the last 40 years, which wiped out livelihoods, especially livestock, the main source of income for these communities. When livestock is lost, food security drops to its lowest level, cases of malnutrition increase, and deaths from starvation are reported,” says Katelo.

As a solution, he proposes anticipatory action, where communities plan and prepare in advance before calamities strike.

“Communities should be cautioned to take early measures such as selling livestock before losses occur, stocking spare parts for boreholes, and commercialising water systems so they are not always waiting for handouts,” says the humanitarian responder.

He further emphasises the need for community ownership of projects to reduce dependency syndrome and the “usual cries for water and food.”

He also advises diversification of income sources, for example, dryland farming to strengthen household food security.