By Daniel Ooko
NAIROBI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Aid agencies have launched a revised emergency appeal of 575 million U.S. dollars to respond to escalating humanitarian needs in Kenya which has left more than ten million people starving.
A statement from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday that the revised Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan (EHRP) includes 28 new projects and 38 revised projects, four projects have been withdrawn or merged with existing projects while 70 projects remain unchanged.
"The government and aid agencies were capitalizing on the spirit of collaboration to strategize, prioritize and plan for 2009 in order to tackle persisting chronic food insecurity, peace building initiatives and restoration of livelihood to built the resilience of most vulnerable populations in the ASALs, Eastern and Coastal marginal farmers, Urban poor and Refugees," said head of UN OCHA in Kenya, Jeanine Cooper.
Cooper said the stakeholders have worked together in 2008 and this year to respond flexibly to new developments, despite many competing priorities.
Cooper said a total of 94.6 million dollars (including carry-over from last year) has already been committed to the 2009 Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan (EHRP), representing 26 percent of the original funds requested (390 million dollars).
This, according to the statement, includes nearly five million contributed through the rapid response window of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for refugee response.
Since the initial launch of the 2009 EHRP five months ago, the humanitarian situation in Kenya has deteriorated. Poor rains, food shortages and high commodity prices have deepened food and livelihood insecurity across many parts of the country; while instability and conflict in neighboring Somalia have prompted marked increase in refugees entering Kenya.
"Humanitarian partners have therefore reviewed their programmatic requirements to respond to existing and emerging needs. The revised appeal requests a total of 575 million U.S. dollars to address the needs of vulnerable communities," the statement said.
Among the key populations targeted under the Plan are victims of the current food crisis; particularly affecting the pastoral ASAL areas, the marginal agricultural areas of south-eastern and coastal lowlands, as well as the urban poor.
The crisis has been triggered by a combination of factors including poor short rains, rising food and commodity prices, reduced cereal production, livestock diseases and incidents of conflict, which converged to dramatically increase food security among many vulnerable populations.
The food crisis led the president to declare an emergency mid January this year and launched an appeal for assistance for 37 billion shillings (about 465 million dollars).
The agencies said emergency interventions are now essential to ensure life-saving food assistance for an estimated 3.5 to 4.5 million vulnerable persons; increasing water availability through enhanced harvesting and storage are valuable complements.
Long-term non-food interventions to support the livelihoods of vulnerable populations are also required to mitigate the impact of the current crisis and to cushion future shocks.
According to OCHA, another target group for the revised EHRP is the IDPs mainly those displaced as a result of post-elections violence.
"Their situation has stabilized over the course of last year due to political progress and joint humanitarian efforts -- as a result, an estimated 347.418 IDPs have returned to pre-displacement areas or transit areas Returns estimated by the government," it said.
"Nevertheless, many of the transit sites have inadequate basic services, including sanitation, hygiene and health facilities and limited access to schools."
The UN said more peace-building and reconciliation for displaced people and the communities that host them are urgently needed for sustained engagement, while increased investment in livelihoods is essential to ensure that returnees can lead productive lives and meet their basic needs while re-building socioeconomic security.
"Even though there was need to respond to immediate live saving needs, the answer to Kenyan food insecurity problem lied with long-term interventions such as provision of farm inputs to farmers and investment in water harvesting and irrigation projects," Kenya's Special Programs Minister Noami Shaban said.
She noted that the Kenya President Mwai Kibaki had last week launched a program termed "Njaa Marufuku" (get rid of hunger) through which farmers in grain basket areas will access inputs free charge or at a subsidized price."
