Students in Marsabit risk not sitting for national exams due to drought
A section of leaders drawn from Northeastern has called on the government to declare the ongoing drought a national disaster and fast-track implementation of drought mitigation measures.
Speaking while addressing the issues affecting the area, especially Marsabit county whose residents have lost their livelihoods due to the prolonged drought, North Horr Member of Parliament Adhe Wario Guyo and his Moyale counterpart Prof. Guyo Jaldesa said that enrollment in schools has gone down and many children are dropping out due to hunger warning that if the trend continues up to April next year the rains are excepted then many lives will be lost.
“If the trend continues and there is no intervention the candidates for this year will not be able to sit for the upcoming national exams,” said wario
Wario said they need interventions such as school feeding programs, cash transfers, supplements for malnourished children and the elderly, providing animal feeds and water tracking for the community and their livestock to salvage the situation.
The two legislators are working with former presidential candidate Ruben Kigame in the Jenga Kenya initiative in a bid to mobilise people to fundraise to help the people living in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands.
On her part, Kigame’s former running mate Irene Ng’endo Kamau said it would not make sense to airlift exam papers to the region if the children will not be in school.
“Without education, the enter region is in darkness, we are hoping someone will hear our cry and respond to our children’s needs down there. Not only those but even the newborn and under five years old are the most affected their parents cannot even breastfeed those that need to be breastfed,” said Irene.
The group said it will have consultative meetings with different stakeholders around the county to find ways of helping those effect by the prolonged drought.
Over one million livestock have been lost to drought, the situation has also been exacerbated by inter-ethnic conflicts since 2019 and humanitarian agencies have warned of a looming crisis.
