WORLD BRIEFING / KENYA

Ten million people risk going hungry in Kenya after harvests failed because of drought, the government said.

The government declared a national emergency and will lift the import duty on maize until the next major harvest, which will not be for a year in many areas.

The emergency declaration allows the government to divert money from development projects to food aid and to use disaster funds that are held in reserve, said government spokesman Alfred Mutua.

Kenya’s finances are under strain because of the cost of sheltering and re-integrating 600,000 people displaced by violence after the disputed December 2007 elections. More than 1,000 people were killed, and many farmers were too frightened to return home.