13 children die of hunger in wajir

Three children have died of hunger in Wajir District as drought continues to ravage parts of the country.
Emotions were high on Tuesday as residents buried one of the children, Issa Jimale, 2, who died on his way to the district hospital. His uncle, Adow QalbIsafi, said Jimale’s mother also died of hunger last October.
The hospital superintendent, Dr Aluvaala Seme, said the child, who hailed from Laghborehole Location, died while officials from Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin), a local non-governmental organisation, were taking him to the hospital.
"He did not make it to the facility alive and we handed the body to his relatives for burial in accordance with Muslim religion," said Seme.
He said Nassir Shariff, 2, and Zeinab Mohammed Salat, 1, died at the hospital on Sunday night while undergoing treatment.
Gloom hung over the hospital as reports of the deaths went round. The Superintendent said tents had been erected to ease pressure from the over-stretched paedriatic ward. He said they had admitted more than 60 malnourished children to the district hospital.
The children’s deaths bring the number of people who have so far succumbed to the famine to seven in the last one week. Two elderly men and two infants were reported to have died in Diif Division. Councillor Dagane Siyat gave the names of the men as Mohammed Abdi Deis, Habiba Ahmed Bilil.
During Jimale’s burial in Wajir, residents accused the Government of doing little to save their lives.
"The Government has been denying hunger related deaths but you can see we are still burying our loved ones," said Dagane.
The residents, who held a quiet procession to the graveside, said Government intervention on water and food was inadequate.
The District Commissioner Samuel Otieno said 26 per cent of the 400,000 residents would get relief food.
He said some of them had received 10.3kg of maize and o.6 kg of cooking oil each to last them a month.