UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 6, (Xinhua/GNA) – The United Nations has appropriated 1.5 million dollars from its Central Emergency Response Fund to fight the possible spread of a desert locust infestation in Kenya, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.
Undersecretary-General, Mark Lowcock, the UN Humanitarian Chief, released the money to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
“Since December 21, numerous swarms started to form in eastern Ethiopia and central Somalia following Cyclone Gati,” Haq said.
“They have been entering into northeast Kenya and are likely to spread throughout northern and central counties.”
The funds are for desert locust control operations, including air and ground surveillance and pesticide spraying.
“Our colleagues say that, if not controlled, the swarms could destroy crops and pasture and threaten the livelihoods and food security of 3.6 million people across the region and in Yemen, including 173,000 people in Kenya,” he said.
The FAO expects its locust response plan to run until June but urgently needs more funds to contain the threat from desert locusts in the region, the spokesman said.
GNA