Trkana County: Drought Early Warning Bulletin for June 2021

Drought Situation & EW Phase Classification

Biophysical Indicators

• The County did not experience rainfall during the period under review, however, cumulative rainfall for the period January to June 2021 accounted for 142 percent of the rainfall normally received over that span of time.

• Stability in the vegetation condition in relation to previous month was observed with the recorded VCI-3month value of 59 depicting normal vegetation greenness.

• Most open water sources were at 25-50 percent capacity following the recharge that took place in May.

Socio Economic Indicators (Impact Indicators)

• Livestock body condition for all species was generally fair and the return trekking distance to water source remained unchanged from the previous month although slightly outside the normal range for the period under review.

• Milk production improved slightly with the amount consumed also increasing gradually in June.

• No variation in the terms of trade was observed and thus it remained relatively higher than the long-term average. Neither was there significant migration taking place nor deaths attributed to starvation/ dehydration reported.

• Despite the food consumption pattern remaining outside the acceptable standards, proportion of children under five years categorized as either being ‘moderately’ or ‘severely’ malnourished was stable relative to the previous month with households applying less severe consumption based coping strategies across the three livelihood zones.

Source: Government of Kenya