Dear MEL Topic Readers,
In Kenya, girls are sold into marriage to stave off starvation from drought
From 2020 to 2023, communities in Kenya experienced the worst drought since the 1980s. There, 80 percent of food production relies heavily on small-scale farmers, but with three years of below average rainfall, families have lost cattle, crops, and livelihoods. The drought situation has deteriorated in most of the 23 counties in Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), leaving millions at risk of starvation. This year, the situation has worsened due to the poor performance of the 2024 short rainy season. As many as 1.8 million people in Kenya's ASALs were food insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance as the areas endured the severe effects of climate change. As many as 500,000 children under five and over 100,000 pregnant women in the areas were malnourished and in need of treatment. In the drought-hit northern Marsabit region, a woman has to walk hours only to reach the only well in the area, load cans of water on her donkey, and walk back home. A girl was told to take her family's goat herd to a pasture far away from her home alone, was raped by a stranger, and became pregnant. A 15-year-old girl was told to marry a stranger in exchange for three camels and three goats. Women are often more vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change and conflicts.
Read the article about the hardship and danger of women in drought-hit Kenya.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/4/2/in-kenya-girls-are-sold-into-marriage-to-stave-off-starvation-from-drought