The United Nations on Friday, January 24 confirmed the release of $10 million (Ksh1 billion) to support efforts to combat the locust invasion currently ravaging parts of Kenya.
According to a report by The East African the funds are to be used to procure aerial pesticides and will be channelled through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is hoped that the additional funds will help avert the risk of the locusts invading other countries in the region.
"It is the worst of its kind in 25 years for Ethiopia and Somalia and the worst Kenya has seen in 70 years.
"Crops are being wiped out in communities that were already facing food shortages. The outbreak is exacerbating the impacts of climate change already being felt in this region," stated Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Haq confirmed that the funds had been released from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) by Mark Lowcock, under secretary general for humanitarian affairs.
Lowcock asserted the need for urgency in combating the insects, noting that the locusts could spill over to several other East African countries if the situation was left unchecked.
Former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri had stated at a press conference on Friday, January 10, that the first swarm of locusts crossed the border from Somalia into Kenya on December 28, 2019.
At the time, Kiunjuri lamented that resource challenges at the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) had hampered efforts to pursue a regional strategy to combat the insects.
"The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa has had challenges mobilizing aircraft and resources. In fact, we have been left to fight alone," he disclosed.
Ugandan authorities issued a notice on Thursday, January 23 noting that the dreaded locusts in Samburu and Turkana counties were only 166 kilometres away from their border.
"Reports from Kenya indicate that locusts have now reached the Samburu and Turkana areas (about 166km from Karamoja), close to the Uganda-Kenya border.
"The public is advised to stock up food as a precautionary measure," a statement from the Government Citizen Interaction Centre (GCIC) read in part.
