NAIROBI, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. through its development agency, USAID, said Monday it's providing 600 million shillings (6 million dollars) to two UN agencies to treat about 50,000 malnourished children under five years of age in the coming months.
The US agency said the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF each received 3 million dollars to procure and distribute specialized products made in Kenya for the treatment of acute malnutrition in children.
"USAID partners are also working to provide affected populations with food, cash support, water, sanitation, hygiene services, and livestock assistance to help protect livelihoods," it said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
Kenya is facing a deteriorating drought situation and reduced food access for households in 21 of the 23 arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) counties following a second consecutive season of below-average rainfall.
About 1.6 million people in Kenya are in urgent need of food assistance in June , according to the National Drought Management Authority and the Kenya Food Security Steering Group.