The World Bank is approving a $150 million credit to support locally-identified and led climate resilience projects in all of Kenya's rural constituencies. The East African country is experiencing a prolonged drought that is undermining the livelihoods of local people. The government estimates that over 2 million Kenyans are already malnourished.
The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved on October 26th, 2021, a $150 million credit to support locally identified and implemented climate resilience projects in all rural constituencies in Kenya. Specifically, this is funding from the International Development Association (IDA), a subsidiary of the World Bank Group established in 1960 to assist low-income countries with grants and low- or no-interest loans for projects and programs that stimulate economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve the lives of local communities.
IDA funding will be supplemented by a $21.4 million grant from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund of the Social Sustainability Initiative for All, led by the governments of Denmark and Sweden. This will provide a total of $171.4 million to Kenya.
Drought starves over 2 million Kenyans
The new climate finance for Kenya will be channelled through the new Locally-Led Climate Action Financing (LLCAF) program, which aims to implement locally-led climate resilience actions and build the capacity of national and local governments to manage climate risks. “Communities in rural areas, particularly those in arid and semi-arid regions that have been affected by climate change impacts such as droughts and floods, climate-related disease outbreaks, low farmland productivity, and livestock declines, will be the main beneficiaries of the program,” says Nicholas Soikan, senior social development specialist at the World Bank and team leader of the LLCAF program in Kenya.
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After the floods, the locust invasion, and the Covid-19 pandemic, Kenya is experiencing a never-ending drought that is undermining drinking water supplies, crops and livestock grazing. In a recent release, Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) announced that over 2 million Kenyans are malnourished. These events prompted President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare a state of natural disaster on September 8, 2021, due to the drought.
Boris Ngounou
