Malnutrition Crisis Looms in Drought-hit Northern Kenya

Northern Kenya is facing a deepening malnutrition crisis as prolonged drought ravages food and water supplies, health officials warn. According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), counties such as Turkana, Wajir, Marsabit, Samburu, and Mandera are in a state of alarm due to repeated rain failures, declining livestock conditions, and soaring food prices. The agency estimates that nearly 884,646 children aged 6–59 months and over 115,000 pregnant and lactating women are currently suffering from severe malnutrition.
The worsening nutritional situation in these arid and semi-arid (ASAL) counties is compounded by sharply reduced milk production — a key food source in pastoralist communities — and limited access to affordable staples The most recent Kenya Nutrition Situation Overview (2025) projects deterioration in several northern counties, driven by food insecurity, disease burden, and poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services.
On the ground, humanitarian agencies are sounding the alarm. In Turkana County, Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit (EHU) screened 2,780 children between July and August 2025; of them, 990 — about one in three — were found to have acute malnutrition. The situation is aggravated by aid cuts, locust devastation, and crocodile attacks that have disrupted fishing — a critical part of local diets.
In response, the World Health Organization has scaled up health outreach in drought-stricken northern regions, deploying mobile nutrition teams to screen, treat, and support vulnerable communities. However, experts warn that without sustained multisectoral intervention — including cash transfers, nutrition support, and long-term resilience planning — hundreds of thousands of Kenyans remain at risk of severe malnutrition.