As COVID-19 continues to spread, CMMB is working to ensure that women and children in some of the poorest and most remote locations have food to survive. The pandemic may lead to a global hunger crisis, including in the countries that CMMB serves. The pandemic’s disruption of commercial supply chains has put families at further risk of malnutrition and starvation.

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Hunger and Supply Chains

In places like Mutomo, Kenya, people depend on local markets for their supplies. Families bring what they have grown to the market and, in return, they purchase or barter for goods that have been transported in from the capital, Nairobi. Unfortunately, supply chains in Nairobi have been completely disrupted in the efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19. The markets are now practically empty.

A woman sitting with a girl in Mutomo, Keynya

Now, many families in Mutomo must solely rely on food grown locally. However, due to the lack of rain, the recent harvest was poor, which left a shortage of food. For families who struggled to access food before COVID-19, the situation has become even more dire.

Joseph Musau is a community health worker for CMMB in Mutomo. He is increasingly worried about families there, and elsewhere in Kenya, as starvation is now an issue as a result of the pandemic. “Fear has struck the whole community. Each new day is full of misery,” Joseph said.

“As COVID-19 spreads here, with little from our local farms and supply chains broken throughout the country, accessing food for vulnerable families will be almost impossible. Starvation will be witnessed daily.”
— Joseph Musau

Joseph with Grandma Grace in KenyaJoseph and CMMB beneficiary, Grandma Grace

CMMB COVID-19 Emergency Response

To respond to this crisis, CMMB distributes food items like maize flour, dried beans, cooking oil, baby formula and other essential foods to families in need in Kenya and elsewhere. Working with its country offices and local partners on the ground, CMMB procures essential supplies and handles the logistics to improve access to nutrition for the most vulnerable.

In addition to food, through our Medical Donations Program, CMMB ensures that critically needed medicines and medical supplies reach hospitals and healthcare facilities, like Syria where the healthcare system has been destroyed after ten years of conflict.

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Your support helps us ensure that women, children and families have enough food during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can help and join our response today.

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