Drought relief is only a telephone call away

• Toll-free number, 109, launched for those in need

A toll-free number for drought-related distress calls has been launched.

Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo said on Monday that the number, 109, would be activated on Tuesday at noon and was expected to help tabulate information on the most affected areas.

“This service will help us (the government) know how to respond to emergencies because all distress calls will go to the Crisis Response Centre,” Dr Ndemo said.

The call system will depend on the availability of telephone signals supported by the four mobile phone service providers; Safaricom, Airtel Kenya, Yu and Telkom Orange.

Wherever making a call is not possible, affected persons are advised to report to their nearest provincial administration offices.

Various ministries are collaborating in reducing the effect of drought, which has affected an estimated two million people and 6.4 million animals. The worst hit regions include North Eastern Province, Tana River, Turkana, Kajiado, Makueni and West Pokot.

On Monday, ministries of Agriculture, Livestock, Special Programmes and Information officials met in Nairobi to discuss mitigation efforts against the drought.

The Livestock ministry announced that Sh1.27 billion would be used to buy weak animals, for slaughter and distribution as relief food.

The Special Programmes ministry denied that relief maize meant for Samburu County had been stolen.

“The problem was that at the time (of allocation) there was no maize in the Maralal depot,” permanent secretary Andrew Mondoh said.

He explained that officials in charge of the relief programme had to collect the food from the Naivasha depot and take it to Samburu. However, the situation has normalised.

Last week, Internal Security assistant minister Simeon Lesrima said the 3,000 bags of maize allocated for Samburu County had not been delivered to the people despite a government pledge.