Kenya

Multiple factors contribute to the deepening food security crisis in Kenya.  The recent failure of the long rainy season (May–July) marks the third consecutive failed rainy season, seriously impacting the pastoral and south eastern marginal lowlands causing a substantial decline in both crop and livestock production. The limited availability of water has contributed to a rise in diarrheal disease including cholera with 4,316 cholera cases confirmed since the beginning of the year with 102 deaths. The number of Kenyans in need of humanitarian assistance to meet basic food needs rose from 1.2 million in January to 3.8 million after an assessment concluded in August 2009. The number of children affected by acute malnutrition rose to 281,000 up from approximately 105,000 children at the beginning of the year. 
In response to the deterioration of the food and nutrition situation in pastoral and marginal agriculture districts, UNICEF is scaling-up programmes for the integrated management of acute malnutrition expected to reach up to 40,000 malnourished children over the next few months. UNICEF continues to support Government and partners in drought and cholera preparedness and emergency response through the provision of water testing and treatment supplies and the rehabilitation and construction of new water supplies and improved community management capacity reaching up to one million persons. Outreach in drought affected districts is strengthened to provide health care to vulnerable communities in addition to the provision of essential health supplies including critical medical supplies for the treatment of cholera. UNICEF’s education programme is supporting low cost boarding schools for 50,000 school children in districts in pastoral areas as they are areas of greatest disparity in terms of enrolment and retention of students, particularly for girls.  Enhanced monitoring and advocacy with communities is further supported in order to protection children from conflict, exploitation and abuse. UNICEF continues to support sectoral coordination for emergencies, leading ‘clusters’ in WASH, Nutrition, Education, and the sub-clusters in Child Protection and Gender Based Violence.
While UNICEF Kenya is in immediate need of US$ 4, 9 million to respond to the most urgent needs, the overall funding gap amounts to over US$ 14 million or 58 per cent of requirements.
Kenya HAU - 22 September 2009

Following the announcement of the election results on the 30th of December, violence erupted countrywide between various communities resulting in loss of lives, injuries, looting, destruction of property, and displacement of thousands of people. The violence has been fuelled by Kenya's ethnic rivalries. Kibaki belongs to the Kikuyu, the country's largest tribe, while Odinga is from the second largest, the Luo. Up to 500,000 people –mainly children and women- currently require humanitarian assistance. More than 300 people have been reported dead to date, including up to 50 children who died when a church in Eldoret in which they were sheltering was set ablaze.
The most affected areas include: Eldoret, Burnt Forest, Kisumu, Turbo, Timboroa, Kuresoi, Molo, Narok, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Bungoma, Mombasa and Mandera where looting, burning of houses and incidences of mass rapes and other forms of violence are reported. The security situation there is very volatile and access is of great concern as an estimated 100,000 people are stranded without food, shelter, water, fuel, essential medicines etc. and are in immediate needs of humanitarian assistance. Most are currently seeking shelter at police stations and churches. Flashpoints in the Nairobi slum areas of Kibera and Mathare (with a combined population of least 1.5 million people) also remain insecure, and there is lack of food after local markets were destroyed and looted.
UNICEF is requesting US$5,104,300 to respond to the needs of affected children and women in the areas of health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, child protection, shelter and non-food items, and emergency telecommunications.
Immediate Needs Document - Kenya Civil Unrest 5 Jan 2007 [pdf]

Following three years of drought that has greatly affected the 80 per cent of Kenya that is classified as arid or semi arid, leading to a declaration of national disaster in July 2004 and a deepening humanitarian crisis that grabbed international attention early in 2006, Kenya has been affected by heavy rains in October 2006 leading to flooding in November. At the end of November, the most affected areas are in the north-east and coastal areas of the country, particularly the Tana River basin, where people have been displaced by high river water, Dadaab refugee camp, located in an area that becomes a swamp when rainfall is high and part of the coast, especially Kwala District. An estimated 700,000 people are badly affected, 100,000 of whom are Somali refugees.
Horn of Africa Immediate Needs document