Mandera County is located in north eastern province
Mandera County is located in the north eastern province of Kenya and it is the capital town of the region. According the census conducted in 2009 Mandera County had a population of about 1,025,756 people living in the area. The settlements are sparsely distributed with households living far away from each other by almost 1 kilometre. Most of the settlements however are found around the water sources such as along the river banks or near an oasis

CONSTITUENCIES

• Mandera East
• Mandera South
• Mandera North
• Mandera West
• Mandera Central

GEOGRAPGHY AND CLIMATE

Rainfall

Mandera County receive minimal rainfall of about 255mm this in turn hinder the growing of crops in the region. People opt for livestock keeping which can suite the region.

Temperature

Mandera County is very hot because it is estimated to have a mean of 28.3 degrees Celsius and when it’s very hot it can go up to 37 degree Celsius. The soils are mainly sandy with low humus content, low water holding capacity and high ph. Any form of agriculture that takes place in this county has to be undertaken under irrigation.

Most of the rivers in the county are seasonal hence residents have to drill boreholes in order to get water for domestic and agricultural purposes. The government and some non-governmental organisations have initiated programs that drill wells and boreholes for the
The area is generally flat and rocky and this again hinders any agricultural activity from taking place. Flush floods occur frequently especially after a heavy downfall leading to loss of lives and destruction of property.

AGRICULTURE IN MANDERA COUNTY

The main agriculture activity in the county is livestock farming. Residents do not practise crop farming due to the low rainfall and poor soils in the area. Farmers have to implement various soil conservation measures in order to improve the status of the soil such as increasing the nutrients in the soil.
Some of the animals kept in the area include cattle, goats, and sheep, camel and chicken. They are kept in large numbers and this has resulted in degradation of the environment due to overgrazing.

ECONOMY

Most of people living in the area live below the poverty line especially those living in the rural area, it is estimated that 68% of the population is in absolute poverty and the level of age dependency ratio is 100:110
The main source of income is quarry mining which the main activity is done in the county but this sector does not provide enough finances to the residents due to the low prices of the product.
Livestock farming is the predominant economic activity in Mandera county. Residents of the region own up to 1000 herds of cattle, sheep and goats. They are nomads hence during the drought season they move with the animals in search of water and pastures. This kind of migration is responsible for the temporary shelters that the communities in the county have set up. The government purchase animals from the community for meat production especially during the dry season.

EDUCATION

In Mandera county there are primary schools in the region, the county has about 117 schools which are well equipped, the number of student in the primary level is about 40,148 per head, we have teaching staff who when compared to the population of the student supposed to teach the population of teachers is low in the region and thus the teacher are overloaded
There is a total of 19 secondary in the county with the number of those joining secondary reducing drastically to 2,747 as compared to the enrolment in the primary level this is because when on finish the primary level they join livestock keeping and foregoes educations thus reducing the number of those joining secondary

HEALTH

Mandera County has well equipped three district hospital and two sub-district hospital which are also well equipped. It has 24 dispensaries which are located differently, 12 health centres, 20 medical clinics and 4 nursing homes in the county. The number doctor in the county is estimated to be 1,308,878 this the hospital are well operated
The number of children being born in the region is high and increasing this is because the mortality rate of the infant is 72/1000 hence people in the region should be educated on family planning methods