In north-eastern Kenya’s Mandera County, along the borders with Ethiopia and Somalia, communities are grappling with the devastating effects of a drought that has left livestock dead and water scarce. Villagers have resorted to dragging carcasses of cows, goats, and camels to distant fields for burning, a desperate attempt to keep the stench and scavengers away from their homes.
Mandera has not seen rainfall since May, and the National Drought Management Authority has placed nine counties on alert, with Mandera on the brink of an official emergency. Pastoralist families, whose livelihoods depend on their animals, are watching helplessly as surviving livestock collapse from dehydration. “I have lost all my cows and goats, and burned them here,” said Bishar Maalim Mohammed, a resident of Tawakal village.
Water sources are dwindling. In Banissa town, a man-made watering hole that once held 60,000 cubic metres of water is now dry, forcing herds to trek up to 30 kilometres for the remaining rationed supply at Lulis village. “In two weeks this water will be finished. We are in a very bad state,” said Aden Hussein, a local resident.
The crisis is affecting more than just animals. Over two million people across 23 counties in Kenya face worsening food insecurity after the October–December short rains failed, delivering just a third of the usual rainfall. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network warns that between 20 and 25 million people across Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia now need humanitarian assistance, with over half of those affected by drought.
Children are among the most vulnerable. At Banissa’s main hospital, the paediatric ward is overwhelmed with severely malnourished children, some arriving from across the border in Ethiopia. “Children are not getting an adequate diet because of this drought. They depend on camel and goat milk, but there is none at all,” said hospital nutritionist Khalid Ahmed Wethow. The hospital has only eight tins of therapeutic milk remaining—enough to last days—and has not received supplies in six months due to international aid cuts.
The Kenyan government and aid organisations, including the Red Cross, have stepped up water-trucking, food distribution, and cash support. However, officials warn that these measures cannot keep pace with the scale of the crisis.
As communities face the harsh reality of climate shocks, residents fear for the survival of their children and livestock. “Our children are the next ones who are going to die,” said Maalim Mohammed in Tawakal, echoing the urgent call for increased humanitarian intervention in the region.
