WFP seeks fund to help over 1 million food-insecure Kenyans

The WFP estimates that one million Kenyans, primarily in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), are acutely food insecure -- a number projected to rise to 1.8 million by January 2025 due to anticipated La Nina conditions, Xinhua news agency reported.

Over 900,000 children aged six to 59 months, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls, require nutritional supplementation, with high malnutrition rates concentrated in ASAL counties, especially in northern Kenya, it said.

The WFP, in collaboration with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and Kenya's Department of Refugee Services, is developing a differentiated assistance model tailored to the specific needs of refugee and asylum-seeker households.

"Moving away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach, this model will categorise refugees based on their vulnerability and capacity to meet basic needs," the WFP said in its latest report.

Under this model, the most vulnerable refugees will receive comprehensive humanitarian assistance, while others will access targeted support, such as livelihood programs, skills training, and economic resources. "This strategy promotes equitable use of resources, long-term sustainability, and self-reliance among refugee populations," the WFP said.

The appeal comes as the WFP faces chronic funding shortages, which have led to food ration reductions, now at a record low of 40 per cent, and a temporary halt to cash transfers for 580,000 refugees in the Dadaab and Kakuma camps in northern Kenya since May, according to the WFP.

The UN agency said it has gathered data and engaged with refugee communities to guide the categorisation and profiling of households for differentiated assistance, noting that "this major shift in how humanitarian and development services are delivered to refugees in Kenya requires a structured and inclusive process, guided by the do no harm principle."