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FROM THE FIELD

Drought threatens lives in Wajir
27 Aug 2009 17:17:00 GMT
 Source: Oxfam GB - UK
Oxfam GB

Website: Website: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/where_we_work/kenya.html

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Men in Wajir gather at an Oxfam water trucking station
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Men in Wajir gather at an Oxfam water trucking station
Alun McDonald/Oxfam

Background

•  Climate change

•  Disaster risk reduction

•  Food and hunger

•  E. African hunger

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Changing climate and worsening drought threatens lives in Wajir. Communities in Wajir have told Oxfam at a series of public hearings that the drought in the district is becoming the most severe in recent memory and has left children malnourished, animals weak or dying, and people struggling to find water. With just over three months until the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, and with worsening drought across the country leaving nearly 4 million Kenyans in urgent need of aid, Oxfam organised public hearings for pastoralist communities to testify about their plight and what needs to be done in response.

Many communities said the local climate is changing, with the rains failing more frequently and droughts becoming more common. They said the most critical danger they face now is a lack of water. Some people reported having to walk up to 60 kilometres to find water for their family and animals, and said the drought has left them surviving on less than five litres of water per day - far below the international standard of 15 litres per day.

63-year-old Habiba Osman testified at a hearing in Wajir South: "I can remember far back, and over time the droughts have got more and more frequent. Now I have to wake up at 4am to walk for four hours to reach the nearest borehole, where trucks bring our only supply of water. Even when I get there, I have to queue for more hours to collect water because there are so many other people waiting."

In some areas, communities reported that livestock have started dying because of the long treks for water - 185 animal carcasses were recently found around one dried-up water source. Most communities in Wajir are pastoralists and livestock are the most vital source of income. With a lack of clean water, there are also growing concerns of outbreaks of serious illnesses.

Many local people said they have noticed the climate changing, but did not know why. Some said that the government has exacerbated the problem by creating too many residential locations and putting too much pressure on the land. Others said it was because the Gods are angry.

"I have never seen the situation this bad - there is no water at all. Cattle are our livelihoods, and when they are gone we have nothing left. Our children cannot go to school because they have to spend all day looking for water for the cattle. We desperately need another borehole and more water here," said Omar Haji, testifying at a hearing in Hadado.

Philippa Crosland-Taylor, head of Oxfam GB in Kenya, said: "Droughts are happening more frequently, and the government and donors need to be aware of the changing climate now and in future, and shape their policies accordingly. Emergency aid is urgently needed now, but in the long-term we need to rethink policies to focus on mitigating the risks of droughts before they occur, rather than rushing in food aid when it's too late. Improving development in the most vulnerable areas is key, especially in the light of increasing climate variability."

Communities called on the Kenyan government, international donors and humanitarian organisations to provide more long-term development in the region, not just emergency aid. Pastoralist communities in districts such as Wajir are already among the poorest and most vulnerable in Kenya, due to decades of neglect and under-development by successive governments. People suffering from the drought said health centres, water boreholes, and medicine for cattle which have been weakened by the drought and easily succumb to disease, are most needed.

The Kenyan government should take a more active role in international climate change policy negotiations, said Oxfam. With a major UN Climate Change Conference to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, the coming months are a vital time for ensuring the world's poor get a fair deal.

"Climate change is a global problem, and we are seeing its impact in places like Wajir. Africa is responsible for less than 4% of the world's carbon emissions, but it is the hardest hit by its effects. Most people in Wajir have not heard of the Copenhagen Conference, but it could have a dramatic impact on the lives of them and their children," continued Crosland-Taylor.

Notes

Oxfam is currently responding to the crisis in Wajir, and in similarly-affected Turkana district, by trucking in supplies of clean water to grazing areas, drilling new boreholes, and carrying out 'de-stocking' projects - buying up sheep and goats from herders that would otherwise risk dying due to the drought, and then distributing the meat to hungry families. This ensures herders get a fair market price for their animals, and provides much needed food. At the moment, herders are forced to sell their animals for a fraction of the usual price.

The public hearing in Wajir is the latest in a series of Climate Hearings held by Oxfam and partners around the world. The hearings aim to give a voice to the unheard majority who are most affected by climate change, and bring that voice to politicians and decision-makers ahead of the Copenhagen Conference. Climate hearings have also been held in Uganda, Bangladesh, Malawi and the Philippines. For more information on the Climate Hearings project, visit http://climatehearings.org/

More information on the situation in Wajir and Oxfam's response is at: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/emergencies/kenya-drought2009-photostory.html


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Kenya

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