Nairobi, Kenya, June 28- The Government has disbursed Sh1.1bn to vulnerable families in Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, and Turkana counties to cushion them against the ravaging drought.
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said Tuesday it has disbursed Sh 638.6 million under the drought shock responsive cash transfer portfolio to an additional 58,000 households in the four counties.
“HSNP shock responsive cash transfers are disbursed to beneficiaries upon triggers based on set thresholds of the vegetation condition index (VCI). When the drought is severe in a given sub-county, an additional 25 percent of households registered in the HSNP database are on-boarded to benefit from the stipend while if the VCI shows that drought is in the extreme phase, then the number of beneficiaries are raised to 50 percent of the registered households,” said NDMA Chief Executive Officer Hared Hassan Adan.
The authority said it has also disbursed over Sh 500 million under the routine cash transfer segment to over 91,000 beneficiaries.
The cash disbursements under the Hunger Safety Net Programme are part of the larger Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project (KSEIP) implemented by the Government.
The other cash transfers under KSEIP are Older Persons cash transfer (OPCT), Persons with Severe Disabilities (PWSD), and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) under the overall Inua Jamii programme.
“Each household under the HSNP routine segment, commonly referred to as Group 1 beneficiaries, is entitled to Ksh5,400 while those under the shock-responsive portfolio will receive Ksh2,700,” said Lt. Adan said.
He pointed out that the beneficiaries will begin receiving their payments on Wednesday through Equity Agents and branches within their regions.
He stated that Mandera and Marsabit counties, with over 19,000 and 18,000 beneficiaries, will receive Sh 108 million and Sh 101 million respectively while Wajir county with over 17,000 beneficiaries will get Sh 95 million.
“Turkana County has the highest number of beneficiaries standing at over 35,000. This county has received Ksh195 million in HSNP routine cash transfers,” he said.
