Safeguarding livestock during drought disasters in Kenya can safeguard livelihoods and food security in the affected regions: case study of Mwingi -

Abstract

Some of the world's poor and most disaster-vulnerable communities are also those 1110streliant on livestock, poultry and working animals for their survival. When disasters strike, in addition to the immediate devastation, food insecurity anelloss of life, the loss of livestock can leave a secondary legacy of economic instability, debt and dependency. In September 2011, the Worlel Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) worked in collaboration with the University of Nairobi to mitigate both immediate and long-term effects of the devastating drought affecting Kenya's animals and people. In that year, following three years of poor or failed rains, more than 11 million people faced starvation in East Africa. It was the region's worst drought in GO years. In Kenya alone, 3.5 million people were affected by the crisis, which was declared a national disaster by the Kenyan government. For the people of Kenya's Mwingi districts, the keeping of livestock - including cattle, goats, sheep and camels - is the primary local livelihood and forms the basis of the regional economy. As the drought continued, daily life became a struggle for survival for both people and their animals. Of the estimated animals thought to have been affected, in some areas, up to 45 per cent of the animal population died. Management of livestock during this case helped to safeguard livelihoods and food security of the affected region.