The government of Kenya received a shot in the arm in its fight against hunger after the Ukrainian government donated 25,000 metric tonnes of wheat.
The donations were received by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Tuesday, November 22 at his office.
According to the DP, the donation will be distributed to counties severely affected by the ongoing drought to help up the government's efforts to fight drought and hunger in the country.
"The donation was presented to my office by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Kenya Andriy Pravednyk who paid a courtesy call to my office," the Deputy President indicated in a statement.
This is the second consignment of wheat in a month from the Ukrainian government since the inauguration of the Ruto government on September 5, 2022.
Kenya's government received the first consignment of wheat from Ukraine in October, just eight months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The first vessel dubbed ‘Super Henry’ docked at the Mombasa port and discharged 51,400 tons of wheat with two more carriers expected in the next two weeks.
Gachagua lauded Ukraine's key role in global food security amidst the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The drought situation in Kenya has continued to worsen in the arid and semi-arid areas and some counties outside the area effectively increasing the number of counties in the alarm phase of drought from 10 to 14 according to the National Drought Management Authority.
President Ruto recently led government efforts to distribute relief food to all the affected counties across the country.
Furthermore, the cabinet lifted the decade-old ban on openly cultivating and importing genetically modified organisms (GMO) as the use of genetically modified crops is seen as a solution to failing harvests.
Other measures the government has implemented include the appointment of a corporate-led National Steering Committee on Drought Response that was gazetted on Monday, November 21 to serve for 12 months.
