The Co-operative Bank has donated Sh. 150 million to the ongoing national fundraising drive against hunger and drought.
“Co-op Bank wishes to join other Kenyans and indeed the global community of goodwill in fully supporting the fundraising appeal initiated by His Excellency the President, with a key contribution of Sh150 million,” Co-op Bank chief executive officer Gideon Muriuki said.
“This is to support relief efforts aimed at assisting families affected by the severe drought ravaging various parts of the country,” Dr. Muriuki added.
The number of Kenyans facing hunger is projected to reach 4.4 million between October and December 2022.
This is according to a UN outlook for October 2022 to January 2023 which indicated that 1.2 million people will be in the emergency phase and will need urgent support.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) report showed that this represents an 84 percent increase compared to the same time last year.
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Across Kenya, acute food insecurity remains elevated due to the impacts of drought on multiple below-average crop and livestock production seasons and high inflation.
According to the 2022 Long Rains Assessment report released in August, over 700,000 people are at emergency levels and an estimated 940,000 children (aged 6-59 months) and 135,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers across the country are acutely malnourished and in need of urgent treatment
The report also estimates that the number of food insecure people could rise to 4.35 million by October as the drought worsened.
