Kenya and the World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a collaboration agreement on Thursday to jointly implement a government-funded, locally-led climate change program.
In collaboration with county governments and communities, the initiative aims to increase local resilience to the effects of climate change by increasing the capacity to plan, budget, implement, monitor, and report resilience investments.
Climate-related events, like droughts and floods, are anticipated to cost the economy between 2 and 2.8 per cent of GDP each year, according to Ukur Yatani, Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury.
Yatani noted that the alliance gives the most vulnerable populations the power and tools to foresee, prepare for, and respond to climatic shocks, with county governments playing a key role.
The WFP will support the scaling-up of community-led climate-sensitive measures and invest in building national and county institutions’ capacity to develop, finance, and implement climate change programs as part of the collaboration.
It would also help families who have lost their jobs to restore their lives.
Kenya, according to Yatani, has put in place strategic interventions throughout time in conjunction with development agencies to track and report climate-relevant initiatives and projects.
According to him, this would allow for improved coordination and efficacy in climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, as well as increased transparency, in accordance with the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Climate change, however, poses a huge danger to agricultural output, which is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, according to officials.
Climate change-related shocks, it added, will bring incalculable disruptions to the country’s food and nutrition security if allowed uncontrolled.
Lauren Landis, WFP Kenya Country Director, stated that the cooperation aims to identify long-term solutions together.
She noted that climate change can quickly spiral into full-blown food and nutrition crises, with the global risk of hunger and malnutrition estimated to increase by up to 20 per cent by 2050.
“By working together, we are confident that we will save lives, spend less on humanitarian assistance and set-up Kenyan communities for a more sustainable and food-secure future.’’