Alice Oyuko-Awuor, Clinical Manager with the Emergency Health Unit, said the malnutrition levels in Turkana are deeply alarming and far exceed the Global Acute Malnutrition emergency threshold of 15 per cent
By TWV Team
Mothers in northern Kenya are struggling to feed their children due to prolonged drought, crocodile attacks curtailing fishing, locust infestations decimating crops, and aid cuts reducing nutrition services, Save the Children has warned.
For the past two months, Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit (EHU) – a team of specialized medical practitioners working closely with local teams and the Ministry of Health – has been in Turkana County screening and treating children for malnutrition, as well as providing other essential medical services.
Of the 2,780 children screened by Save the Children between July and August, 990- or one in three – were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition. Mothers told Save the Children that they are struggling to provide even one meal a day due to the drought, reduced fishing caused by crocodile attacks, and cuts to humanitarian aid. Many fear the crisis will worsen in the coming months.
Across Kenya, new analysis by Save the Children of Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data shows that the number of people experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity is projected to rise by 16 per cent by January next year, from the current 1.8 million already facing severe food shortages.
Of these, more than 179,000 people are likely to face emergency levels of hunger and extremely high rates of acute malnutrition, with the majority concentrated in the arid northern counties of Baringo, Mandera, Marsabit, and Turkana.
In Turkana County, 70 per cent of the population is not getting enough to eat, driving alarming rates of malnutrition. An estimated 87,000 children under five, along with 36,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, urgently require treatment for acute malnutrition.
Rising water levels and flooding in the lake, along with crocodile attacks, have significantly reduced fishing opportunities. Her brother often comes home empty-handed, leaving Dinah unable to feed her children on some days. Dinah told Save the Children: “When people go to fish by the lake, they stay there for a long time – one and a half to two weeks – while people are starving here. But when they come back, they often return empty-handed, and then we are left wondering if we will survive.
“Hunger means my children’s bodies have not grown properly; they become weak and emaciated. They have no fat. When I see them hungry and crying themselves to sleep, even the younger ones, my heart is in pain.”
Josephine, 32, a mother of four from Turkana, is seven months pregnant and sells charcoal to buy food. Her husband is a fisherman in Lake Turkana, where catches have fallen drastically. She said:
“These days, the drought is serious and it’s not like before. Even the organisations who used to help us are no longer here. In the past, during drought, organisations supported us. Now the drought is back, but the help has stopped because of funding cuts.”
Alice Oyuko-Awuor, Clinical Manager with the Emergency Health Unit, said the malnutrition levels in Turkana are deeply alarming and far exceed the Global Acute Malnutrition emergency threshold of 15 per cent.
“During our first round of outreach clinics, I was shocked and saddened to see so many children and pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Countless parents told us they are lucky if they can give their children just one cup of plain maize a day, and many go to bed hungry. Others are surviving only on wild fruit.”
Jib Pornpun Rabiltossaporn, Save the Children’s Country Director for Kenya and Madagascar, added:
“The majority of people in northern Kenya depend on pastoralism and fishing for food and income. However, locust infestations earlier this year significantly reduced vegetation cover, undermining grazing. Families report their animals are eating locust droppings, which causes illness, diarrhoea, and even death, with devastating consequences for nutrition and health, particularly among vulnerable children.
“For fishing communities, rising water levels in Lake Turkana, driven by climate change, have submerged fishing zones and increased the risk of crocodile attacks. Several recent incidents have created fear and reduced fishing activity, further eroding household incomes and food supplies.”
In July, Save the Children deployed its Emergency Health Unit to work with local teams and the Ministry of Health to establish 25 health and nutrition outreach sites, providing life-saving services for children and adults in the most at-risk areas.
Save the Children has been active in Kenya since 1950 and in 2024 reached nearly 700,000 people, including about 455,000 children.
