Acting to anticipate the impacts of drought in Kenya
With forecasts indicating that drought conditions are expected across Kenya in the coming season (October-November-December), the Kenya Red Cross Society has activated its early action protocol (EAP) for drought. Over the next seven weeks, it will carry out a series of pre-agreed actions to support 150,000 people at risk from the impacts of this devastating hazard.
These actions will take place in three priorities counties – Kilifi, Kitui and Kwale – and include:
- livelihoods support, such as distributing drought-tolerant seeds and providing fodder for livestock
- water, sanitation and hygiene, for example repairing and rehabilitating water facilities
- early warning messages for at-risk communities, including through radio broadcasts
- community engagement and accountability, with community meetings to review the effects of the ongoing actions.
Drought conditions are expected to be especially severe in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid areas. In the past, this has forced pastoral communities to cross into other counties in search of water, pasture and food. This increases the pressure on resources in those counties, potentially leading to socio-economic impacts for their populations. By acting early, the Kenya Red Cross Society aims to reduce the impacts for at-risk communities, and to reduce the likelihood of these knock-on effects in neighbouring areas.
Arid and semi-arid counties, being a home for pastoralists mixed with farmers and a host of other populations vulnerable to drought, have previously demonstrated that they can rapidly switch from stable to worse conditions when the October to December rains fail.
Activating the EAP
Once the trigger thresholds set out in the EAP for drought were reached, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) released 365,775 Swiss francs (460,210 US dollars/391,408 euros) from the Anticipatory Pillar of its Disaster Response Emergency Fund. The activation notice provides further details of the triggering process and thresholds.
A growing threat
“This activation has made the Kenya Red Cross Society the first humanitarian actor to activate anticipatory actions ahead of the expected drought,” confirms Oscar Lino, ICHA. “The early interventions, aimed at mitigating impacts before a disaster, will allow us to alleviate human suffering.”
With the drought expected to spread to other counties in Kenya during the October-November-December season, other partners in the country are also planning to activate their anticipatory action plans for drought. For example, the World Food Programme is preparing to act in Marsabit and Wajir counties.
For more information about this activation, contact Dr Ahmed Idris or Peter Murgor, Kenya Red Cross Society.
Thanks to Oscar Lino, ICHA, and Melanie Ogle, IFRC, for their help with this article.
Photos by the Kenya Red Cross Society, taken during a drought assessment in Marsabit County, northern Kenya.