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At least 17 children have died at Garissa Provincial General Hospital in the last two weeks, bringing to at least 27 the number of those who have died of hunger.

Ten others were reported to have died in Mandera District last week. Medics confirmed that eight of the 57 children admitted with hunger-related illness died during Christmas after nine others the previous week.

Medical superintendent Khadija Abdalla said the situation was alarming as hunger-stricken locals brought children who were already too weak to be treated effectively.

She said 236 hunger victims from remote locations in North Eastern Province were hospitalised. The majority, she said, were children and the elderly.


Response committee

Abdalla said patients suffering from diarrhea, malnutrition and stomach disorders outstretched the hospital�s bed capacity.

Speaking on phone, she said medics last week treated and discharged 42 patients but more could be referred to the hospital that also serves people from Somalia. She said the hospital had been receiving an average of 57 hunger related cases every week.

Residents on Monday set up a drought response committee to complement the Government efforts in saving lives.

The committee, which comprises religious leaders, traders and politicians, opened a kitty for the affected families and appealed to well-wishers to chip in kind or cash.

But the drought committee chairman, Councilor Siyat Osman, accused the Government of failing to predict famine disaster.

He said it was hypocritical for the Government to pretend to be concerned only when the drought had started taking its toll.

Former Fafi MP Elias Barre Shill accused the Government of marginalising pastoralists.

Meanwhile, over 9,000 bags of maize and beans have so far been dispatched to famine-hit areas since Christmas Eve.

The foodstuffs have been dispatched to Mandera, Moyale, Marsabit and Wajir districts, areas the Government said were the most affected.

Agriculture Permanent Secretary Dr Romano Kiome said most of the food was on transit to the affected areas and would arrive by Thursday.

"We have about 8,500 bags on transit, which will arrive at their destinations in about three days," he said.




Logistical hitches


The PS added that more food would be sent to the affected areas as they expect the food to last for only a few days. He said less bulky foodstuffs like milk were being transported by air.

He said the Government was encountering logistical hitches, noting that movement of foodstuffs to the interior of the worst affected areas was slow due to tough terrain. This, he added, delayed distribution of foodstuffs to the people who needed it urgently.

Kiome made the remarks when flagging off eight truckloads of foodstuffs at the National Cereals and Produce Board depot in Nairobi�s Industrial Area. He was accompanied by the managing director of NCPB, Tirop Kosgey. He said the Government would keep monitoring the situation and send food to the areas affected by the drought.

Tirop said NCPB would relocate one million bags of the grain from North Rift depots to those in hunger-stricken areas.

He said the maize would be transported to NCPB depots in Marsabit, Wajir and Mandera districts. He said they expect to buy 1.7 million bags of maize this year and that they had already bought 450, 000 bags.

On Friday, President Kibaki summoned four ministers and top military officials to a crisis meeting at State House to address the prevailing famine in several parts of the country.

Summoned were, John Munyes (Special Programmes), Kipruto arap Kirwa (Agriculture), John Munyao (Livestock) and Morris Dzoro (Tourism and Wildlife) who are also members of the National Disaster Management Committee.

The President also summoned top military officers, led by Chief of General Staff General Jeremiah Kianga.



Government failed to plan

And two clerics on Monday blamed the Government for the famine-related deaths in North Eastern and Rift Valley provinces.

The Rev Mike Brawan of the Metro Church said the Government had failed to plan ahead of the humanitarian disaster.

"The Government ought to have planned ahead and provided the people in the affected with enough food before the disaster," said the preacher.

Brawan, who led hundreds of faithful in celebrating Christmas at the church in Langa Langa, said it was a shame for people to die of hunger while there was plenty of food in other parts of the country. The cleric asked the President to sack Government officials supposed to look at the food situation.

The church later contributed foodstuff and clothing for families affected by famine.

Bishop Peter Kairo of the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru also criticised the Government for not foreseeing the situation in North Eastern, Eastern and Rift Valley provinces.

In his Christmas message, Kairo accused the Government of abandoning those in arid and semi-arid areas.

He said the relevant ministries should have predicted the famine and advised the Government accordingly.

"Why do some of us pretend not to know when hunger will strike those parts of the country?" he wondered.

Kairo asked President Mwai Kibaki to sack non-performing civil servants and ministers.

"They have no business in the Government if they cannot predict when hunger will strike," he said.

Source: Standard (Kenya)