Historic drought in northern Kenya shifts diet and mobility away from traditional pastoralism as resource security and nutrition falter

The Greater Horn of Africa suffered the worst drought in >40 years between late 2020 and early 2023. Using a prospective, interdisciplinary unbalanced panel study between 2019 and 2024 among Daasanach pastoralists in northern Kenya, we measured the effects of and recovery from this drought in relation to experiential and objective measures. We examined water and food insecurity, coping and dietary strategies, and nutritional status among 515 adults and 384 children. Livestock herds dropped precipitously with little recovery by 2024. Individuals' consideration of moving due to water problems alongside experiential water and food insecurity scores increased substantially during the drought indicating severe distress but returned to pre-drought levels by 2024. The drought led to lower mobility, which continued post-drought for Daasanach and their remaining animals, indicating increased sedentarization. Milk intake declined drastically but rebounded by 2024. In contrast, meat intake declined and stayed lower a year post-drought, while consumption of previously stigmatized fish increased. As the drought progressed, nutritional status worsened. Children who consumed milk had significantly better nutritional status over time. Compared to men, women experienced greater levels of water and food insecurity and greater declines in adiposity at the drought's peak. Lower socio-economic standing was associated with worse outcomes except nutritional status over time. Overall, experiential measures of water and food insecurity recovered faster than livestock and nutrition, while shifts in livelihood and dietary strategies persisted post-drought. Policymakers should use these findings to inform drought mitigation plans as diversification of diet and livelihoods may help ameliorate negative impacts.

Duke Scholars

Author Herman Pontzer Evolutionary Anthropology