Highlights:
While the overall nutrition situation is showing improvement in coastal, North West and South East Counties with an expected decrease in the acutely malnourished children requiring treatment, the nutrition situation is expected to worsen in Isiolo, Garissa, Mandera and Wajir counties as a result of poor rains. The total caseload for acutely malnourished children requiring treatment in the ASAL and urban areas is expected to decrease from 304,083 as of February 2015 driven by improvements observed across ASAL counties.
Humanitarian access and delivery of essential basic social services has been significantly constrained by increased inter-communal conflict and terrorist attacks especially in Northern Kenya, Upper Eastern and Coast regions. Across all conflict-affected counties, 1,600 teachers are not on duty affecting both access and quality of education for approximately 80,000 school pupils. Within this context, a total of 465,000 emergencyaffected children continue to remain out of school due to multiple shocks as a result of drought, chronic food insecurity, lack of access to safe water and conflict-related displacement.
The Health and Nutrition also continue to be affected by insecurity. The mass exodus of health workers impacted negatively the quality of health and nutrition services provision in most health centers. In several parts of Northern Kenya, Community Health Workers have been left to provide maternal, child health and nutrition services, while a planned Polio campaign in Northern Kenya had to be postponed indefinitely due to insecurity.
Since 26 December 2014, a sustained Cholera outbreak has spread to 16 Counties: Nairobi, Migori, Homa Bay, Bomet, Mombasa, Nakuru, Muranga, Kirinyaga, Baringo, Kiambu ,Embu, Machakos, Narok, Kilifi, Trans nzoia and Turkana Counties, with 4,938 cases and 97 deaths (Case Fatality Rate =2 per cent) reported by 29 June 20151. UNICEF is supporting Health, WASH and C4D interventions, and has received ECHO funding to support ongoing preparedness and response efforts, through expanding prevention measures to bring the outbreak under control before the next rainy season starts in October, especially in high risk areas where children are particularly vulnerable.
Of the $25,000,000 humanitarian funding appeal for 2015, UNICEF has received a total of $11,427,389 (46 per cent) as at 30 June 2015 (this includes funding carried forward from 2014). However, the HIV/AIDS, Health and Child Protection sectors remained grossly underfunded.
In 2015, UNICEF has received humanitarian funding from Government of Japan Supplementary funding, USAID/Food For Peace and European Commission/ECHO.