Humanitarians to present US $189-million appeal for displaced persons

Nairobi, 11 April (OCHA Kenya) - The humanitarian community in Kenya will present a 189-million-US-dollar revised appeal Monday for drought victims and the hundreds of thousands of people still displaced or affected by post-electoral violence in 2008.

In its initial appeal 16 Jan 2008, the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations asked donors for 41.9 million dollars. It has received 31.2 million dollars of this, representing 74 percent of the originally stated requirement.

This revised appeal supplements the Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan presented in January, by seeking to cover lifesaving, peace-building and reconciliation activities through to the end of 2008. The revised appeal incorporates the projects of 13 United Nations agencies and those of 37 international and local nongovernmental organizations. Broadly, the projects range from the welfare and protection of internally displaced persons (including host families) to the resettlement and restoration of livelihoods intended to support and complement appeals made by the Kenya government and the Kenya Red Cross.

In its current appeal, the greatest increases will be in the provision of food (by 74 million dollars) because distributions will now include the entire year. It will target displaced persons, host communities and pastoralists affected by drought in the arid as well as semi arid lands.

A short rains assessment that ended in December 2007 showed that parts of the country received less than 75 percent of the normal rainfall during the short rains. This, coupled with the displacement of farmers in Rift Valley Province, the nation's breadbasket, has raised the spectre of food shortages. The province accounts for 70 percent of the country's staple, maize. Unless the efforts at political reconciliation are successful, a return of most displaced farmers to their fields seems unlikely.

Pastoralists in the arid and semi-arid lands of the north, northwest and northeast need support if another crisis is to be averted in these areas. Several aid agencies have already started providing water and emergency food, but additional action such as de-stocking animals and rehabilitating boreholes is needed.

Monday's launch will attract the participation of the various stakeholders including the government, donors, the Kenya Red Cross Society, UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

Contact OCHA Kenya:

Jeanine Cooper Tel: 762-5155 Email: jeanine.cooper@undp.org

Olu Sarr Tel: 762-5147 Email: olubusiyi.sarr@undp.org