Peanut paste, perfect solution - 10th August 2022

Kenya's been in a long drought and there's a lack of food. Children are hungry and in poor health, but peanut paste has given some hope.

James Jarso's worried about the children dying.

James Jarso: "As I say it is about life-saving. If children are not screened, children die as a result of malnutrition. The effect of drought, three years down the line, no rain."

Peanut paste provides nutrition for children facing hunger but, since May 2021, its price has gone up 23 percent. UNICEF says war in Ukraine and Covid are the main cause of this sudden increase.

Ukraine produces some of the ingredients that go into peanut paste. However, the fighting there has also resulted in fuel prices increasing, which has added to the cost of transporting the ingredients.

Peanut paste was invented 25 years ago and has saved many children's lives. It helps maintain a healthy body weight for children who don't have much to eat. It has 500 calories, vitamins and minerals in one bag and doesn't need any preparation. In Kenya, where there's a lack of water, this is the perfect solution.

The Horn of Africa is having its worst drought in decades. 1.7 million children there are going without food. They're starving. James Jarso is concerned about limited availability of peanut paste, which might result in the deaths of many children.

James Jarso: "If we run out of this, more deaths would be recorded very soon actually, very soon. We lost a child, I saw. We actually referred four of them to Marsabit County referral hospital. One died - we lost him. Three of them survived. So, this one is life-saving. Without this, more children will die."