Garissa County government in conjunction with Aid agencies has formed a drought monitoring centre to coordinate all the activities and intervention measures by various players involved in the mitigation of the current drought affecting most parts of the arid and semi-arid counties.
Garissa Governor Nathif Jama said many water pans and boreholes in the region have dried up and most of the residents who are herders depend on water for their livestock.
Speaking after a meeting held at Garissa Hotel, Governor Jama said more needs to be done in addressing the current drought situation facing various parts of the country.
He also revealed that some schools in the regions affected by drought have been forced to close due to the fast escalating drought while some are grappling with low turnouts as many parents have moved with their children to other areas in search of water and pasture for their livestock.
“The machines pumping water from our boreholes have no time to rest. This is because of the growing number of human and livestock in dire need of water,” Jama said.
The meeting that was organised by the county government brought together United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) implementing partners.
The aid agencies agreed to step mitigation measures after it emerged that more than 350,000 people in the country are in dire need of relief food, health care, and drinking water for both residents and livestock among other humanitarian assistance.