A severe and prolonged drought has gripped communities in Kenya's Turkana County, pushing hundreds of families into a profound humanitarian crisis characterized by extreme hunger and widespread malnutrition. The dire situation is acutely visible in Loima Sub County, where a 12-month-old girl, frail and dehydrated, struggles with severe acute malnutrition in her mother’s arms, having gone without food for over 24 hours. Her mother, Iperi Nangordengo, joins countless desperate families at an integrated nutritional outreach organized by the Kenya Red Cross Society in Lomil, seeking vital nutritional supplements as a last resort against starvation and worsening illness.

The drought has obliterated livelihoods, with families like Nangordengo's losing livestock, once their main source of income, and facing the impossibility of traditional trades like charcoal selling due to the scarcity of resources. “We have not had any food for the past two days. I have nothing left to feed my baby,” laments Nangordengo, highlighting the desperate struggle for survival. This widespread devastation of livelihoods has pushed many into abject poverty.

The crisis extends to vulnerable populations, including pregnant women. Loice Etiir, eight months pregnant, is severely malnourished and anaemic, a condition that heightens the risk of postpartum haemorrhage, a leading cause of maternal deaths. Etiir, like many others, has lost most of her livestock to the drought, making it impossible for her husband to provide for their family of five other children. Her attempts at charcoal burning are hampered by her advanced pregnancy, and even trekking long distances for water is exhausting and dangerous. Despite regular clinic visits, she remains nutritionally vulnerable, relying solely on humanitarian support.

Loima Sub-County faces an alarming malnutrition rate of 54 percent, significantly exceeding the global average of below 15 percent, making it the highest in the country. Data reveals that at least 87,249 children aged six to 59 months and 35,844 pregnant women are severely malnourished. The Kenya Red Cross Society's integrated nutritional outreach has been distributing crucial supplements, including Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUFT) and Super Cereal Plus (CSB++), to address the needs of children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and the elderly. Observations at distribution sites underscore the severity of the hunger, with middle-aged men consuming RUFT as a meal and children scavenging for food remnants.

Officials warn of catastrophic consequences. Fredrick Etiir, Loima Sub-County Nutrition Coordinator, emphasizes the escalating severity of the drought, fearing disease outbreaks like diarrhoea and long-term health issues such as stunted growth and impaired brain development in malnourished children. He warns that the region is on the brink of an emergency phase. Adding to the crisis, Turkana County Nutrition Director Saada Loyoko highlights the critical shortage of nutrition commodities, leading to reluctance among women to seek medical help and a risk of unreported deaths. The cessation of crucial nutritional support from UNICEF, following a U.S. government stop-work order on Sh1.2 billion in allocated funds, has left the county with only a fraction of the necessary resources, making urgent intervention crucial to prevent a rise in mortality rates.

Oscar Okumu, Kenya Red Cross Head for the seven North Rift counties, describes the situation in Loima as dire. The organization is actively providing nutritional support, cash assistance, and implementing school feeding programs to sustain children and improve their nutritional status. Since the drought's onset, the Kenya Red Cross has assisted over 180,790 people nationwide, with eight out of ten Turkana residents affected. Other hard-hit counties include Isiolo, Mandera, Wajir, Samburu, Garissa, and Marsabit.

The drought, which began around August last year, has devastated the pastoral communities by wiping out pasture, drying water sources, and weakening livestock, which form the backbone of the local economy. Villages like Nakitokirion are deserted as families migrate to neighboring countries like Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Sudan in a desperate search for pasture and water. Robert Epur Ikoel, Chief of Lomeyen Location, reports widespread livestock deaths, predicting a worsening situation without immediate intervention. Turkana County Commissioner Julius Kavita confirms the severe water shortage, with seasonal rivers reduced to sand beds and communities digging shallow wells. While cross-border agreements allow access to water and pasture in areas like Uganda’s Orum and Kobebe Dam, political instability in South Sudan hinders movement to other potential grazing lands, further compounding the crisis for communities dependent on their animals for survival.