The president of Kenya called for a National Day of Prayer on Tuesday because of the crippling drought happening in the country. 

Nakuru, a city 100 miles from the capital, Nairobi, has been hit hard with drought. President William Ruto attended a Sunday morning service in Nakuru when he announced his plan for a National Day of Prayer. 

According to reports, Ruto's own ambitious economic revival strategy for the country is also dependent on a successful rainy season.

"As a government, we have set out elaborate plans for food security, we have seeds, ample fertilizer, and water harvesting strategies including dams. We now need God to send us the rain," says Ruto. 

The drought in east Africa, including Kenya, have been experiencing some of the worst drought conditions that they've had in decades. These conditions are causing crop failure, loss of livestock, wildlife, and malnutrition in people. 

Kenya has had organizations see this crisis as the U.N. humanitarian agency has termed this drought a "rapidly unfolding humanitarian catastrophe."

According to reports, since 2020 there have been five missed rainy seasons that have affected roughly 50 million people. 

The country and continent continue to ask people to pray for rain. Last summer Milan's Archbishop made a pilgrimage to three churches in hopes of ending the country's dry spell and Utah's governor called for citizens to pray for rain ahead of a weekend of extreme heat.