Alarm over drought in Garissa
The situation has worsened following the delay of the short rains, which are expected between October and December. This has led to acute water shortages, depletion of pasture, and rising food insecurity among the pastoralist communities.
As rains pound parts of the country causing severe floods in some areas, a sound of alarm has been sounded in Garissa over a raging drought threatening livelihood and livestock in the region.
The situation has worsened following the delay of the short rains, which are expected between October and December. This has led to acute water shortages, depletion of pasture, and rising food insecurity among the pastoralist communities.
County leaders have called for urgent concerted efforts from the national government to mitigate the effects of the current drought before the situation gets out of hand.
In a crisis leadership meeting held on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, the Garissa governor Nathif Jama called for urgent humanitarian assistance, saying that drought was already having devastating effects on the communities’ livestock and livelihoods across the county.
He said the situation is becoming dire and called on the national government, partners, and stakeholders to intervene and save the situation. “We are here to sound an alarm over the drought situation in our county. It is becoming hard for the pastoralist communities. At the moment the situation is grim and very soon, we are going to be losing livestock and wildlife if something is not done urgently,” he said.
“Eighteen of our 30 wards are severely affected and we are trucking water to more than 200 settlements. We are also providing fuel and maintaining the vehicles to make sure that the people who benefit do not suffer due to breakdowns,” the governor added.
On his part, Garissa Deputy County Commissioner Sebastian Okiring sounded an alarm over the deteriorating situation, calling on development partners and humanitarian agencies to step up their interventions and coordinate closely with both the national and county structures to ensure an effective and timely response.
“We want to call upon all partners to come in and actively engage so that we are able to ease this situation. This is a situation that is getting dire, and a lot of support is required so that we safeguard our people, livestock and wildlife,” he said.
A report from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) revealed a deteriorating situation in Garissa indicating that at least 33,000 households are facing starvation. The report further states that thousands of households are facing acute water shortages, while livestock, the mainstay of the county’s economy, have drastically declined in the recent months due to lack of adequate pasture.
Garissa County NDMA coordinator Abdinoor Dubow said that while they were engaging all available resources from both the national and county levels, there was a need for both the county and national governments to intervene and support residents affected by the dry spell.