NAIROBI, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The number of children aged under five years as well as pregnant and lactating mothers who are acutely malnourished and in need of treatment in Kenya's arid areas due to drought has hit over 1.1 million, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday in an assessment report.
The NDMA said that some 970,214 cases of acutely malnourished children have been reported in 22 affected arid and semi-arid areas as drought worsens. This number has risen from 942,000 cases in October last year.
"Acute malnutrition risks across the counties are 970,214 children aged 6 to 59 months, and 142,179 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, who are equally in need of treatment," the NDMA said.
The institution noted that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Kenya currently stands at 4.4 million, up from 4.2 million in October last year.
Due to diminished pasture and water resources in many of the arid counties, mortality across all livestock species, namely camels, cattle, goats and sheep, have increased, standing at 2.61 million. ■