Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06NAIROBI1930
2006-05-03 12:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Nairobi
Cable title:  

USAID ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MICHAEL HESS

Tags:  EAID KE 
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VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #1930/01 1231258
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031258Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1449
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 8486
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 4170
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 1668
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4906
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3910
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 6936
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS NAIROBI 001930 

SIPDIS

AIDAC AFDROUGHT

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EPRATT
USAID/W FOR AA/DCHA, WGARVELINK, LROGERS
DCHA/OFDA FOR GGOTTLIEB, PMORRIS, CGOTTSCHALK,
KCHANNELL
DCHA/FFP FOR JDWORKEN
AFR/EA FOR JBORNS, KNELSON
USUN FOR EMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER
ROME FOR FODAG
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID KE
SUBJECT: USAID ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MICHAEL HESS
VIEWS DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND USAID RESPONSE IN KENYA.


Summary

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001930

SIPDIS

AIDAC AFDROUGHT

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EPRATT
USAID/W FOR AA/DCHA, WGARVELINK, LROGERS
DCHA/OFDA FOR GGOTTLIEB, PMORRIS, CGOTTSCHALK,
KCHANNELL
DCHA/FFP FOR JDWORKEN
AFR/EA FOR JBORNS, KNELSON
USUN FOR EMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER
ROME FOR FODAG
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID KE
SUBJECT: USAID ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MICHAEL HESS
VIEWS DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND USAID RESPONSE IN KENYA.


Summary


1. From April 7 to 13, Assistant Administrator of the
USAID Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian
Assistance (AA/DCHA) Michael E. Hess traveled to Kenya
to assess the impact of drought and to view USAID
interventions. AA/DCHA Hess visited drought-affected
pastoralists in Mandera District and farmer communities
in Kitui and Makueni districts. In discussions with
community members, government and local officials, and
humanitarian organizations, AA/DCHA Hess emphasized the
need to address the structural and chronic causes of
hunger in Kenya and to identify long-term solutions.
USAID will continue to monitor the progress of the
current rainy season and provide appropriate assistance
to affected populations. End Summary.

Mandera Pastoralist District


2. On April 8, AA/DCHA Hess and Nairobi-based USAID
staff traveled to Mandera District in North Eastern
Province. The delegation was accompanied by staff from
the Government of Kenya Office of the President and the
U.N. World Food Program (WFP).


3. Mandera District, in the northeastern corner of
Kenya bordering Somalia and Ethiopia, is one of the
hardest hit districts in the current drought. The area
is a major marketing center and provides health,
education, and other services for populations from all
three countries. Local communities reported up to 60
percent of the livestock, primarily cattle, goats and
sheep, in the district have died from the drought
conditions. To address pre-famine conditions, WFP is
distributing 75 percent rations to approximately 80
percent of the district's population.


4. After a courtesy call to the District Commissioner,
AA/DCHA Hess visited the Mandera town livestock market.
USAID partner Development Alternatives Incorporated
(DAI) is implementing a peace-building and conflict-
resolution activity based at the market that brings
together a market management committee and local
leaders from three countries. AA/DCHA Hess spoke with
a group of leaders who said that drought conditions are

the worst in 90 years. Sales in the livestock market
have dropped from an estimated 1,500 per day to only
500 in recent weeks. The leaders explained that their
communities are in a perpetual cycle of preparing for
drought, experiencing drought, or recovering from
drought, and that competition for resources is ever
present at all stages of this cycle. However, this
year the leaders noted a decrease in the number of
conflicts that led to violence and credited USAID's
conflict resolution activities for providing a platform
in the marketplace to peacefully resolve conflict.


5. The delegation then visited WFP's food store and
found hundreds of tons of U.S. and Government of Kenya
commodities neatly stacked. WFP officers on the scene
said that there was enough food for about one month of
Mandera district?s distribution requirements in the
warehouse. However, with the rainy season commencing
there are concerns that flooded and muddy roads may
prevent sufficient food quantities from arriving in
Mandera over the dirt road network in North Eastern
Province.


6. Over lunch AA/DCHA Hess met a group of leaders from
Gedo region, Somalia, who described conditions there as
precarious. They continue to experience distress

migration, high losses of livestock with some of the
most vulnerable households losing up to 100 percent of
livestock, and limited availability of water and basic
health and nutrition services.


7. On the way back to Nairobi the delegation stopped
in El-Wak, a town on the Somali border, where it had
rained heavily the night before, bringing relief to the
drought-stricken area. Due to the rains, all the
livestock still alive were out of town taking advantage
of the standing water in pasture areas. The delegation
visited Borehole 11, which was established in the 1970s
with USAID support in a village approximately 10 km
from El Wak. The existence of the borehole has
attracted hundreds of desperate people living in hovels
and depending on WFP food for survival.


8. One woman told AA/DCHA Hess that she had lost all
her livestock and had migrated to the village with her
children out of desperation. When asked if she would
take up pastoralism again, she said she would if
animals were provided through a restocking program.
She also noted that her children had received some
medical care from outreach workers, and after hearing
that there was a school feeding program in El Wak that
she would enroll her children in school. Other
households said that they were sharing their rations
with new arrivals in El Wak.

Kitui and Makueni Agro-Pastoral Districts


9. From April 9 to 10, AA/DCHA Hess visited drought-
affected Makueni and Kitui districts accompanied by
regional USAID management. The delegation visited
projects implemented by USAID partners German Agro
Action (GAA) in Makueni District and Adventist
Development and Relief Agengy (ADRA) in Kitui District.
The delegation met with district officials, local
community leaders, and beneficiaries.


10. Three weeks of rainfall in the area has improved
local pasture, recharged natural water points, and
prompted farmers to plant for the current long rain
season. Previous failed rainy seasons caused
approximately 90 percent of maize crops to fail last
year, detrimentally affecting food security in the
region. Compounding the short-term effects of the
drought is lack of development assistance provided by
the central government, which has resulted in the
general underdevelopment of the districts.


11. USAID has responded to drought conditions in the
districts with both food and non food interventions
since February 2005. USAID/OFDA provided 1.5 million
U.S. dollars (USD) through partners GAA and World
Vision to improve storage capacity and access to water.
In addition, USAID/FFP supports a multi-year
Developmental Assistance Program through partner ADRA.
Approximately 50 percent of the population in Makueni
and Kitui districts currently receives general rations
from the USAID-supported U.N. World Food Program (WFP)
operation.

Water-Harvesting in Makueni District


12. In Makueni District, AA/DCHA Hess visited three
examples of USAID/OFDA sustainable drought
interventions, including rain catchment systems at
local primary schools, reservoirs and water kiosks in
local villages, and protected shallow wells. A cash-
for-work component attached to each intervention

provides families with immediate relief. Although
rains were sporadic in recent years, rains do fall;
however, the community does not have the ability to
store rainfall and distribute water.


13. Since February 2005, GAA has constructed more than
46 rain catchment systems and shallow wells in Makueni
District with USAID/OFDA support. AA/DCHA Hess visited
examples of 20,000-liter tanks attached to school roof
catchment schemes that, when filled, can provide water
to students for up to six months. Shallow wells are
protected from livestock and include runoff troughs for
animal use. In March 2006, in response to ongoing
drought conditions, USAID/OFDA awarded GAA an
additional USD 500,000 to expand programs to the Mtito
Andea Division in Makueni District.


14. AA/DCHA Hess congratulated the enthusiastic
communities on the quality and swift implementation of
the various projects. Communities contribute both
labor and local materials to each project and assume
managerial control of the projects once completed. The
delegation noted that local residents had clearly
rallied around the interventions in spite of the harsh
conditions and crop losses experienced over the last
year. Communities commented that they felt empowered
to plan and implement mitigation and developmental
initiatives for future responses as a result of the
USAID assistance.

Title II Development Activities in Kitui District


15. In Kitui District, AA/DCHA Hess visited a Title II
development activity implemented by ADRA/Kenya. The
project is one of five in Kenya aimed at improving
livelihoods and increasing community capacity to
prevent and mitigate the effects of weather-related
disasters. The multi-year project, from FY 2004 to FY
2008, reaches approximately 60,000 people at a cost of
approximately USD 7 million.


16. AA/DCHA Hess witnessed distribution of corn-soya
blend (CSB) and vegetable oil to families caring for
orphaned and vulnerable children, observed an HIV/AIDS
awareness campaign, and visited 2 of the 140 community
boreholes constructed through the program. The
boreholes aim to reduce the distance women must trek to
find water.

Conclusions


17. The start of the long rains in the districts
visited is not enough to alleviate the immediate
suffering of the drought-affected pastoralist and agro-
pastoralist communities. Continued rainfall is
critical for full recovery, notably successful harvests
and revitalized herds.


18. Emergency drought programming in the region,
initiated in the fall of 2005, is having a positive
impact on affected communities in Mandera, Kitui, and
Makueni districts. Water, food, health, and livelihood
interventions by USAID are providing immediate relief,
though more needs to be done to ensure long-term
recovery and sustainability.


19. USAID will continue to monitor rainfall and
humanitarian conditions in Kenya to ensure appropriate
assistance. If the current rains continue, USAID
programming will focus on recovery. However, if the
rains fail and humanitarian conditions deteriorate,

USAID will continue to provide emergency assistance to
affected populations.

BELLAMY