Marsabit County’s malnutrition crisis has escalated to a level three emergency, marked by severe food shortages due to prolonged drought, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The organization reported that 23.3% of children in the region face critical global acute malnutrition, with 11 deaths linked to the crisis between February and March 2022.
Three consecutive seasons of failed rains have devastated northern Kenya’s pastoralist communities, leading to a 60% livestock loss in areas like Illeret. This has disrupted milk availability, a primary nutrition source, while food prices have surged 25–50%, forcing families to sell water for basic sustenance.
Local mother Telite Saani described the hardship: "We had 20 head of cattle and sheep, but all have died. We collect carcasses to burn." She relies on selling water to buy flour for her family, often going hungry when sales fall short. MSF noted that 60% of households in Illeret now face acute malnutrition, with limited access to medical care and a five-hour drive to the nearest referral facility.
MSF has expanded Illeret Health Centre’s capacity to a 10-bed therapeutic feeding unit, providing three meals daily to mothers to boost lactation. However, the organization warned that sustained food distribution and staffing increases are critical to prevent further deaths. "Without urgent action, humanitarian catastrophes will persist," said MSF official Edi Atte.
Unicef highlighted that severe wasting—defined as extreme undernutrition—now accounts for one in five deaths among children under five in the region. The agency’s report linked the crisis to climate shocks and conflicts, noting that 13.6 million children globally face severe acute malnutrition. In Uganda, wasting rates have risen 60% since 2016, despite the potential for targeted investments to reduce child mortality.
