In Northern Kenya, prolonged drought has left families facing severe food insecurity after nearly a year without rain, as livestock die or migrate and livelihoods collapse. Mothers and children have been particularly affected, with rising cases of malnutrition and limited access to food and health services. Through Save the Children’s integrated outreach services and cash assistance, vulnerable households were identified and supported, helping stabilize health and restore hope despite the ongoing drought.
The sun hung harshly over Qalanqal village in Garissa County. Dust swirled through the dry air as community members gathered under a tree serving as a temporary integrated outreach site supported by Save the Children. Save the Children staff and community health workers moved from one family to another, measuring children’s arms with MUAC tapes, checking weights, and quietly identifying those weakened by hunger.
Nearby, mothers waited patiently for nutrition screening and treatment. For families in this part of northern Kenya, the drought has become more than a climate crisis. It has turned into a daily struggle for survival.
According to community members interviewed at the time this story was documented, they had not seen rain for close to a year. Similar conditions have affected large parts of Garissa County, leaving water pans dry and pasture lands barren. Livestock, once the backbone of household survival, have either died from starvation or been driven far away in desperate searches for pasture and water. Without animals, families have lost not only their source of income, but also the milk and meat that sustained their children.
In many homes, hunger has quietly taken hold.
For Abubakar*, the crisis became deeply personal shortly after his wife gave birth at home. Weak from delivery and unable to access nutritious food, her condition rapidly worsened. With the nearest health facility nearly 20 kilometres away and no transport available, the family was left isolated and helpless.
“We have gone for almost a year without rain. Everything dried up,” Abubakar recalls. “Our animals were everything to us; food, income, and survival. When they died, we were left with nothing.”
As other family members migrated with the remaining livestock in search of pasture, Abubakar stayed behind with his wife, fearing she would not survive.
“There was no food in the house to help her recover,” he says. “Her condition kept getting worse and I was very worried we might lose her.”
When he heard that Save the Children outreach teams were conducting nutrition services in nearby communities, he sought help immediately. Outreach workers later visited his home and identified his wife as severely malnourished. She was enrolled for treatment, received postnatal care and nutritional support, while the family also received cash assistance to help them buy food.
“That cash helped us a lot because we could now buy food,” says Abubakar. “I could send a rider to Garissa town to bring milk for the child and food for the family.”
Today, his wife has regained strength, and their child is healthy and recovering well.
A few kilometres away, another mother was facing a similar struggle.
Barwago*, a mother of seven, remained behind in the village after her husband migrated with the family’s livestock. Alone and with little food available, she struggled daily to feed her children.
“The drought has affected us so much,” she says. “There was no food in the house, and it was very hard to take care of the seven children alone.”
Her youngest child, three-year-old Hamdi*, had grown up on milk and occasional meat from the family’s animals. But after the livestock were lost, those foods became unaffordable luxuries.
“Milk from Garissa was very expensive,” Barwago explains. “Even one packet costing KSh 120 was too much for me.”
Over time, Hamdi became visibly weak and malnourished.
“I could see the change, but I did not know what to do,” she says. “My child became thin and weak because I could not afford milk or food. It was very painful to watch.”
During the outreach exercise, health workers screened Hamdi and immediately enrolled her into a therapeutic feeding programme. The family also received Plumpy’Nut treatment and emergency cash support, helping Barwago buy food for her children during one of the hardest periods the family had faced.
“Now my child is improving,” she says. “She is stronger than before, and I am very grateful for that.”
Fardhi* (48) and her daughter Andir* (3) live in Garissa County in Kenya and have been severely impacted by ongoing drought. Fardhi struggles to provide food for her children and Andir became weak and unwell. She was diagnosed with malnutrition at a Save the Children outreach clinic and is now receiving treatment. Samfelix Randa / Save the Children
Across drought-affected communities in Garissa, stories like those of Abubakar and Barwago are becoming increasingly common. The prolonged drought has created a devastating chain reaction, stripping families of livelihoods, worsening food insecurity, and increasing cases of malnutrition among children and mothers.
Sadia Mahat, a Food Security and Livelihoods Officer with Save the Children, says the impact on families has been severe.
“Most families have lost their livestock, which means they no longer have milk or income, and this is directly affecting the nutrition of children and mothers,” she explains. “In several households, especially those left behind as men migrate with animals, women are carrying the burden alone.”
Through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded Humanitarian Assistance to Drought-Affected Communities programme, Save the Children has been supporting vulnerable households across Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera counties through integrated nutrition outreach, therapeutic feeding, and emergency cash assistance.
Since the programme began earlier this year, outreach teams have screened thousands of children under five and pregnant and lactating mothers for malnutrition, while vulnerable households have received financial support to help them access food and other essential needs.
For families like Abubakar’s and Barwago’s, the support has provided more than immediate relief. It has restored hope during a time of uncertainty.
But despite the progress, the drought continues.
As another dry season stretches across northern Kenya, many families remain caught between survival and despair, waiting for rain, recovery, and the chance to rebuild their lives once again.
