Emergency drought response efforts have intensified in Turkana County as humanitarian partners move to cushion vulnerable communities from worsening food insecurity and rising malnutrition linked to prolonged dry conditions across northern Kenya.
In Lomil, Loima Sub-County, the County Government of Turkana, in partnership with the Kenya Red Cross Society, conducted an integrated outreach combining food distribution, malnutrition screening, treatment, and referral services.
The intervention targeted hundreds of affected families and forms part of broader efforts to curb increasing cases of undernutrition as drought continues to strain livelihoods in the region.
Turkana is among the Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) counties hardest hit by the current drought, where shrinking food supplies and weakened household incomes have heightened vulnerability, particularly for children and other at-risk groups.
Officials say the emergency food distributed during the outreach is expected to provide immediate relief to struggling families as humanitarian operations continue.
The severity of the drought’s impact was evident during relief operations in Turkana East.
While travelling to Suguta for the response mission, Kenya Red Cross teams encountered livestock severely weakened by lack of water and pasture and briefly paused to provide water before proceeding, highlighting the widespread toll of the dry spell on both people and animals.
In Suguta Sub-County, the response focused on school-based nutrition support, where fortified porridge was distributed in 10 schools, reaching 6,120 children and their parents.
The intervention, supported by the Danish Red Cross, aims to stabilise child nutrition and sustain school attendance at a time when hunger threatens learning continuity.
Humanitarian partners warn that without sustained food, water, and nutrition assistance, drought conditions could further deepen vulnerability across Turkana and neighbouring ASAL counties.
Continued collaboration between county authorities, relief agencies, and development partners remains critical to protecting lives, safeguarding livelihoods, and preventing a wider nutrition crisis.
The latest response highlights the pressing need for long-term resilience measures in conjunction with emergency aid, as communities across northern Kenya face the escalating humanitarian consequences of climate-driven drought.