by David Musyoka
NAIROBI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) said Friday it had approved a 1-million-U.S.-dollar emergency humanitarian assistance targeting those affected by drought in Kenya.
The bank said the emergency relief grant will support Kenya and UN's efforts in providing urgent food aid distributions and deliveries of water purification supplies.
"Targeted beneficiaries of the food distribution would include households affected by the drought mainly widows, orphans, female and elderly-headed households without visible means of survival," it said in a statement.
Kenya in February declared a national disaster following extreme dry spells hit the country's pastoral zones since August 2016.
The drought has resulted in high local cereal prices, increasing livestock mortality and more conflicts over land.
Food prices are currently 10-25 percent above their five-year averages and are expected to continue rising.
The Kenyan government said the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance had doubled to 3.5 million in June.
Kenya's National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said that the drought has worsened in most Kenyan counties, now affecting nearly half the country.
