CMS Ireland
- Feb 12, 2020

Locust Invasion Hits Horn Of Africa

CMSI Mission Associate Isabelle Prondzynski is based in Nairobi and has alerted us to an urgent prayer request for Kenya and other countries in the Horn of Africa.

Isabelle writes, "Kenya is currently suffering from a dreadful plague of locusts. They have not yet reached Nairobi, but have already caused devastation in many other parts of the country. Lucy Irungu (Urban Development Programme Leader), who lived through a previous swarm, said that when the locusts have passed, there is not a single green thing left in a garden or farm.

Some people catch the locusts and eat them, but this does not make up for the destruction they leave behind. And then, they lay their eggs and leave a legacy that will spring to life again at an uncertain point in the future. The government is spending $5 million to manage the swarms of locust and prevent spreading."

(Photo credit: A local tour guide holds a handful of dead desert locusts after an invasion in Shaba national reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya. Photograph: Daniel Irungu/EPA)

Reports from UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sources claim, "The Horn of Africa has been hit by the worst invasion of desert locusts in 25 years. The invasion poses an unprecedented threat to food security in the entire sub region, where more than 19 million people in East Africa are already experiencing a high degree of food insecurity."

Please pray for our partners in Kenya as they deal with the plague and support local communities who have already been affected by the devastation they have caused.