Within African countries, Kenya disproportionately suffers from the effects of climate change, with the poor populations facing the most severe consequences. The impacts of climate change have created a strong need for disaster preparation in the country—from multiple deluges in April that swept villages away, leaving 1,000 families to seek shelter in evacuation camps, to floods that killed 294 people and resulted in the destruction of 650,377 acres of farmland. Unfortunately, low levels of planning and cooperation by the Kenyan government are preventing its citizens from moving out of their homes and continue to delay the necessary reconstruction of communities.
The increasing disparity in Kenyan infrastructure and technological development makes early detection more difficult. Lack of preparation needs to be addressed to make early warning ability possible, especially with the rise of health risks associated with climate-related events. Yun Fu, associate director of Innovative Finance at the Milken Institute, states, “Droughts cause water scarcity, increasing the spread of diseases like cholera and dysentery…erratic rainfall and rising sea levels create breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.” Preparation and early detection would prevent unnecessary illness and sickness while keeping infrastructure intact. Presently, only 45% of African countries have early warning systems, while the definition of warning varies per person. Homogenous warning systems throughout the country would effectively send SMS text messages through different communities to enact change before external help is able to intercede.
Climate scientists are working together to train health professionals in effectively using climate data to manage and treat health risks. The Kenyan government has drafted the upcoming “Disaster Risk Management Bill” in early 2025 that would combine various disaster risk management agencies. Inter-agency cooperation is of the utmost importance as the issue of climate preparedness has reached levels too severe for one sector. Financing disaster risk reduction is crucial. Currently, only 1-4% of national budgets in Africa go towards directly investing in disaster reduction. Budget tightening within the Kenyan infectious disease prevention and treatment programs has only exacerbated the issue.
Kenyan President William Ruto has worked to tackle the effects of climate change through his background in plant ecology. Roughly 90% of the country’s electricity comes from renewable sources and plans to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030. His plan incorporates multiple backgrounds to generate the best change in Kenya’s climate crises. Traditional practices, such as select members in communities using natural phenomena and animal behavior to detect weather patterns, have slowly begun to be incorporated into disaster resilience plans. By incorporating aid from intergovernmental agencies and internationally, Kenya will be able to manage upcoming climate change-related disasters better and prevent further damage to both people and infrastructure.
By Anisha Parmar