Kenya: MPs urge development minister to act to save lives

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Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Friends of CAFOD, and MP members and supporters of the group in Parliament have written to Andrew Mitchell, Minister for Development and Africa, calling for urgent action before it is too late in Kenya.

The cross-party MPs and Peers have urged the government to scale up its response in Kenya before it's too late, as the country is grappling with food shortages and hunger. The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen and many risk dying from malnutrition, as Kenya is bracing for a sixth failed rainy season, with the drought situation described as an emergency.

Despite the growing emergency in Kenya, and the wider East Africa region, the Government has cut its funding to the region and is now providing less than 80% than the amount it committed when East Africa last faced droughts in 2016-17.

Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Friends of CAFOD said: "The crisis in Kenya is dire, livestock are dying and crops have been decimated leaving families on the brink of starvation.

"The international community, including the UK Government, has been too slow to help the people of East Africa. The Government should be acting faster to deliver on the famine compact agreed at the G7 in 2021. Ministers should also address the long drivers of conflict and poverty, as well as lead global action and support communities at the sharp edge of the climate crisis.

"The drought is showing no signs of ending and without action, people will die from hunger. The government cannot continue to ignore what is becoming one of the worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory. It is about time they act and help save lives."

The situation is particularly acute in Marsabit, Northern Kenya, with the local community bearing the brunt of the drought and hunger crisis. The scale of livestock deaths, asset loss and clear desperation of communities is shocking.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which is the world's leading authority on hunger and malnutrition, one in ten of the 460,000 people in in Marsabit are facing emergency levels of food insecurity. Over half (56%) are facing crisis levels of food insecurity.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, who saw the devastation first hand on a visit to Marsabit, with CAFOD and the Coalition for Global Prosperity in January said: "The devastation I saw was heartbreaking, skeletons of livestock were scattered almost everywhere you looked. The local communities are used to rearing livestock in tough conditions, but they've never dealt with anything on this scale.

"I met families who feared for their lives, but also for the future of their children if the hunger crisis is prolonged. The government need to help, before it's too late. Those suffering in Marsabit can't afford to wait any longer."

Extra funding for Kenya, and the East Africa region, can help build sustainable and long term resilience to drought reducing the need for recurring humanitarian assistance.

CAFOD, the official aid agency for the Catholic Church in England Wales, has been working in Kenya for decades and is responding to the emergency with food and water distribution, and the installation of pump houses and water tanks.

But the escalating situation means the number of families need urgent support is increasing by the day.

Verity Johnson, Head of Africa region for CAFOD who has just returned from a trip to Marsabit said: "Most households have lost all their livestock and are left with nothing. Communities are becoming increasingly desperate as the crisis in Northern Kenya escalates.

"Our partners are doing what they can to respond to the need, but the needs are growing each day. The people tell me they feel abandoned and they're losing faith. We need the UK and the international community to act before it is too late."

The letter was sent to Mr Mitchell by Catherine McKinnell MP, in her capacity as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Friends of CAFOD.

The letter was also signed by Alexander Stafford MP, Baroness Hooper, Baroness O'Loan, Bell Riberio-Addy, Diedre Brock, Ian Byrne, Lisa Cameron, Mary Glindon, Patrick Grady, Mary Kelly Foy, Sarah Champion and Tony Lloyd.