Drought-stricken Kenya has donated a planeload of relief supplies to neighbouring Somalia.
The donation has been met with an uproar on social media as more than a quarter of Kenyans living in arid and semi-arid areas are facing high levels of food insecurity, according to UN data.
The consignment included assorted food items and various assorted drugs, according to a statement by Kenya’s military.
It said the relief aid was in response to last week’s bombings in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, that left 120 people dead.
“We feel the pain that our brothers and sisters in Somalia are feeling and we are grateful to President William Ruto for this initiative which will help alleviate the suffering of our neighbours,” said Colonel Victor Kang’ethe.
The Kenyan Government has today delivered a planeload of emergency relief aid to the government of Somalia following the devastating bombings undertaken by Al Shabaab militia in Central Mogadishu. https://t.co/1mdoTEhZVY pic.twitter.com/yTxkkWDn2A
— Kenya Defence Forces (@kdfinfo) November 3, 2022
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had on Thursday appealed to Kenyans to donate food to their starving fellow citizens, according to local media outlets.
“We appeal to Kenyans to give food so they can be given to those in need. Many Kenyans are suffering and we are making this appeal to help them. No Kenyan should die from hunger when other Kenyans have surplus food,” he is quoted as saying.
A fourth season of failed rains is causing one of the worst droughts East Africa has seen in decades.
-BBC
