Caritas International has sent out an appeal for nearly 1.2 million US dollars to feed women, children, the sick and the elderly in Kenya, where food aid doesn't always reach those most in need and food shortages are expected to get worse. 

In a report on the food emergency, Caritas Kenya said there have already been some lives lost, and up to 3.5 million people are going hungry and in need of emergency food aid. 

"The main priority is obviously to avoid any further loss of life," said Bishop Martin Kivuva, Chairman of Caritas/Development and Social Services Commission in Kenya. 

The project will benefit nearly 45,000 people, with about 30,000 receiving direct food distributions and over 14,000 receiving additional, high-nutrition food as part of a supplemental feeding programme. That programme targets severely malnourished children and women, including nursing and pregnant women, who need added energy and nutrients. 

The programme aims to reach people who have not been receiving food aid through the government distributions or from international NGOs. According to surveys done by different dioceses in Kenya, food aid has not been reaching many people. For example, in Isiolo, one of the hardest-hit areas, government rations are reaching only 10 percent of people who need them. In some areas, the malnourished are too weak to even reach food distribution centres. 

The programme also targets hungry people who are also suffering from illness, such as HIV/AIDS, and are likewise too incapacitated or isolated to reach food aid. 

Caritas Kenya will oversee the entire project, working in close collaboration with other Caritas member organisations, such as CAFOD and Catholic Relief Services, to ensure transparency in the food distributions. There have been reports of food aid being sold on the market, as well as duplicate distributions in some locations. 

In addition, more than 18,000 farmers will receive drought-resistant seed to plant for when the next rains come. 

Some areas in north and northeast Kenya have gone without rainfall for two years now. The current crisis began spiralling into a serious emergency when long-awaited short rains failed from October through December, erasing any hopes of crops. 

The herders in the affected regions of Kenya are most vulnerable, as they rely on the grasses and other plants that come after the short rains to keep their herds alive. Now they've exhausted everything there was to graze on, and the emaciated animals cannot even be sold off at market to bring in a little money. 
Maize, beans, and other food would be distributed to the targeted populations through July.