Auditor General Warns and Flags Billions in Relief Food Untracked as Records and Policy Lacking

The Auditor-General stressed that the absence of mechanisms for feedback, field oversight or performance evaluation means relief operations have largely been implemented with minimal accountability to beneficiaries.

Gathungu noted that, without documented objectives or measurable outcomes, it was impossible to confirm whether relief interventions had effectively addressed food insecurity or helped vulnerable populations.

Kenya is confronting deepening food insecurity challenges. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number of people experiencing severe food insecurity more than doubled to 15.5 million by 2024, partly driven by rising food prices and repeated drought shocks.

At the same time, systemic issues such as high food loss and waste, where up to 40% of food produced is lost before it reaches consumers, exacerbate gaps in availability and distribution, complicating efforts to address hunger and undernutrition.

Legal and humanitarian experts say the audit underscores long-standing criticisms of Kenya’s disaster response framework: without a formal relief food policy, operations risk being ad hoc, poorly targeted and vulnerable to mismanagement.

Civil society organisations have long called for clearer guidelines, stronger monitoring systems, and greater community involvement in designing and evaluating food relief programmes.

Policy analysts also argue that robust tracking, documentation and evaluation should be central to food security interventions so that funds spent yield tangible benefits and help Kenya meet its domestic goals, as well as international commitments such as the UN SDGs which call for ending hunger and improving food systems.

In response to the audit, stakeholders including government planners, county officials and humanitarian partners are expected to review existing procedures and consider establishing a formal relief food policy framework with clear accountability mechanisms.

Steps likely to be discussed include the development of a national policy, standardized data systems, and strengthened monitoring and evaluation tools to ensure future interventions are both transparent and effective.