The worst humanitarian crisis since WWII: Kenya is starving

'The spectre of hunger and disease is haunting East Africa again.'

The United Nations reported the famine in Africa has put 20 million people at risk of starvation.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Report after report has shown evidence of Kenya's rich standing tall above their dying nation.

Kenya's president, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, is estimated to be work $500 million, with most of his wealth coming from property - but is that true?

The country has been the victim of a 20-year famine yet somehow, as thousands die of starvation and disease each year, the president grows richer.

The UN has called for help after witnessing the urgent humanitarian need in Kenya, where children are so weak they can no longer walk and villages are so poor they pool their money to purchase small amounts of food.

"We stand at a critical point in history. Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the UN," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien told the Security Council March 10.

He continued, stating: "The appeal for action by the Secretary-General can thus not be understated. It was right to sound the alarm early, not wait for the pictures of emaciated dying children...to mobilize a reaction and the funds."

Humanitarian aid in the form of money, food and clean water, has been send to the famine-stricken country but it isn't enough, especially with the rich skimming as much as they can from funds designated to help their people.

According to Daily Mail, President Kenyatta's wealth was accumulated, in part, by "wanton corruption, wearying tribalism and woeful governance."

Kenya has some of the world's highest-paid politicians yet their people starve.

John Githongo, Kenya's most famous whistle blower, claimed: "God makes drought and man makes famine. In this day and age there should be no Kenyans dying for lack of food."

In 2016 alone, there were several multi-billion dollar scandals, yet when it was time for high officials and even the president to be tried in court, witnesses mysteriously disappeared.

The Murang'a Water Project was nearly shut down by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who claimed the project to bring water to the people would lead to "desertification of large parts of the country," leaving the Ministry of Water desperate to make quick deals with local leaders to ensure the project would not be stopped.

The Kilifi County government couldn't account for over $2 billion in public funds and an ongoing multi-billion scandal that started in 2016 between the government and opposition politicians remains to be concluded.

There was a fake ministry of finance for foreign donors to help line the pockets of warlords and President Kenyatta's greed is shining through with his attempts to bring visa costs for foreign aid workers up to nearly $10,000.

Experts claim climate change has only made the horrible situation in Kenya worse. The drought's severity is inflamed by the rapidly growing population, leaving 2,7 million people without food security and 180,000 children dropping out of school.

Naalmalees, a a newlywed woman who must walk over an hour each way to bring water to her home, explained: "Everything seems to have changed this year. It is hotter and we have less rain. I have never seen drought like this.

"I do not have powers to change the climate or bring the drought to an end, so all I can do is encourage the younger ones to stay strong as we wait for the rain."

Action Against Hunger reported one in three young children is affected by malnutrition in the worst-affected regions of Kenya, adding, "These are rates that demand an urgent response."

Boniface Mwangi, a prominent Kenyan activist, demands change, claiming, "Our politicians capitalize on our people's problems. Famine makes people money."

He isn't wrong and the UN is taking action. According to O'Brien, the UN will be collaborating with the Kenyan government to launch an appeal of $200 million to "provide timely life-saving assistance and protection."

Many groups have made generous pledges, such as Lake Chad Basin, where 14 donors pledged a total of $672 million, of which $458 million will be used specifically for humanitarian action this year.

"This is very good news, and I commend those who made such generous pledges," O'Brien stated. "Now we need the international community and this Council to act...It is possible to avert this crisis, to avert these famines, to avert these looming human catastrophes. It is all preventable."

Please pray for those starving to death in Kenya. Pray for the leaders to see the consequences of their actions and for humanitarian groups to reach their targets. Pray for peace, an end to corruption and for those who question where their next meal will come from.

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