NAIROBI, 14 March (IRIN) - Inadequate rainfall in parts of Kenya's eastern, northern and southern areas is likely to cause food insecurity and water scarcity in 2007, the meteorological department has warned.

Areas expected to receive below-normal rainfall during the March-May long rains are the northern parts of the Rift Valley Province; most parts of Eastern Province, including the districts of Moyale, Marsabit, parts of Makueni, Isiolo and Kitui; and the western parts of Coast Province, including Taita Taveta, Tana River and parts of Kilifi, according to a report issued by the director, Joseph Mukabana, on Tuesday.

Food insecurity in arid and semi-arid areas of Eastern and Northeastern provinces, which were hit by drought and floods in 2006 and by livestock diseases at the beginning of 2007, could be aggravated by low rainfall.

Overall, however, most parts of the country were likely to receive near-normal rainfall in the March-May season, with the districts of Lamu, Malindi, Kilifi and Mombasa in Coast Province expected to experience slightly above-normal rainfall.

Floods after the excessive October-December 2006 short rains led to the outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF), a mosquito-borne disease that affects both livestock and humans. Arid Northeastern Province was the worst affected, with livestock keepers there suffering loss of income and food shortages after the government banned the slaughter and movement of livestock in a bid to control the disease.

Herders in Moyale district, which borders Ethiopia, lost sheep and goats to an outbreak of a tick-borne viral infection known as Nairobi Fever, whose symptoms include fever, diarrhoea, bloody nasal discharge, and spontaneous abortion, according to a report by the government's Arid Lands Resource Management Project in February. Moyale is one of the districts that have not recovered from the effects of the 2006 drought, having had no rain in October-December.

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