By Florence Dzame

On a hot Wednesday afternoon in a Village in Turkana County Ekai, 2, hangs tightly on the nook of her mother’s hand. Ms Ngicwae, 47, the boy’s mother stands near a grass thatched manyatta, taking cover from the scorching sun. Her four younger children are looking at her with anticipation for a meal at lunch time. They all had porridge in the morning and Ms Ngicwae says that it was rare for the family of eight to eat three meals in a day. Today however, a pot of maize and beans is boiling for lunch.

Lopoli and her sister Ewoton, the youngest of the siblings, were identified during a health outreach program supported by Save the Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and were enrolled into the nutrition program. Malnutrition is a prevalent problem in the county which is a vast arid and semi-arid land located in North Western Kenya. According to statistics by the Kenya Food and Nutrition Situation Seasonal Assessment Report (March, 2019) 54,264 children under the age of five years, are suffering from acute malnutrition in Turkana county. Both Lopoli and Ewoton receive an array of services including Ready to Eat Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to treat severe acute malnutrition, immunization services, vitamin A supplements, and diagnosis and treatment for ailments from the nutrition program.  In the two months of treatment, their condition seems to be improving.

Ms Ngicwae depended only on income from charcoal burning and selling firewood to meet her family’s needs, a business she says had greatly been impacted by the drought and flooding experienced last year as a result of climate change.

“The drought was bad, we had no food to eat and there are days we would not eat for a whole day,” she said in Nga’turkana through a translator. Their situation was further aggravated by pre-existing issues in the county such as limited access to health and nutrition service, poor childcare practices, high illiteracy and poverty.

Save the Children is supporting cash transfers for 700 families that have children enrolled in the nutrition program. The cash goes a long way to support the household to afford a diverse nutritious diet.

 “This initiative is set to improve the food basket in the household and to give the families purchasing power so that there is enough food in the home as the children get treatment for malnutrition,” said Kenneth Kagunda Nitunze Program Manager- Save the Children.  

The cash transfer is conducted monthly and each households receives Ksh 5,000. So far Save the Children has distributed Ksh 7 million since the initiative started in November.

“With the support I received, I was able to buy food, clothes for my children and even start a basket and mat weaving business. Our lives are much better.” she said.

 In Kenya 3.1 million people are currently in need urgent of humanitarian assistance. Across the country, over 600,000 children already require treatment for malnutrition according to Long Rains Assessment in August 2019. Save the Children is currently responding to the Horn of Africa climate change food insecurity response through interventions in health and nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, food security and livelihoods, protection, education in emergency and advocacy.