The WFP has launched an emergency operation in Kenya's northern districts where the famine has affected most of the population. Dutch Church Aid, the NCCK is helping to distribute food in the Turkana District. Unlike in the past where nongovernmental organizations dropped relief food in the areas of need, NCCK has adopted a community approach where the affected members distribute the food themselves. We believe that when hunger strikes here, women feel it most. They have also been fundamental in pinpointing most affected families.
Plans are under way to facilitate a relief recovery and rehabilitation program.
Poverty experts attending a World Bank conference in Nairobi in March said women and children under age five typically suffer the most during times of famine because of cultural practices that entitle men to eat first. The WFP estimates that the majority of people in northern Kenya will need food aid until early next year. Reports from the field indicate that some families have lost all their livestock. WFP is concerned that even if the rains came now it may not help alleviate current drought. The United Nations Children's Educational Fund estimates that one in every three children in Kenya is malnourished.