Nearly 10 million Kenyans, almost a quarter of the population, are facing food shortages due to drought, the government said Friday.
"The government is to declare a national emergency in regard to the prevailing drought and famine situation in the country that has rendered nearly 10 million Kenyans food insecure," said a statement from President Mwai Kibaki's office.
Kibaki chaired a food security meeting which authorised the importat of five million bags of maize duty free "to cater for an expected national shortfall."
Other measures include buying livestock from drought hit areas and reducing seed prices, the statement said.
Kenya suffered a drought in late 2006 that killed dozens of people and tens of thousands of livestock.
As many as four million Kenyans, among 11 million in five Horn of Africa nations, were considered at risk at the height of the drought.
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