Kenya has officially taken a major step towards protecting lives and livelihoods from disasters through its national launch of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative which seeks to tailor United Nations’ ‘Early Warnings for All’ initiative to the risk profile and needs of Kenya.
Over recent decades, the country has faced increasing climate-related disasters, particularly droughts and floods, which have severely impacted communities, especially in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions.
In 2024, the March-April-May floods affected around 410,000 persons, claimed 315 lives and caused damage that amounted to 187 billion Kenyan Shillings (USD 1.5 Billion).
Speaking in Nairobi during the Official launch of the initiative, Cabinet Secretary Ministry for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Deborah Barasa said that the launch of EW4All in Kenya underscores the urgent need to shift from reactive disaster response to proactive anticipatory action, while ensuring that no one is left behind when disasters strike.
The CS said to reduce these disaster losses, Kenya joined the global EW4All initiative in a demonstration of its commitment to saving lives and the country’s hard-fought development gains.
“Every Kenyan – regardless of where they live or what language they speak – deserves access to life-saving information before disaster strikes. This Initiative will do exactly that,” she said.
She said five per cent of the National Disaster Risk Management budget will be allocated to upgrading early warning systems across all relevant institutions, noting that Kenya is not new to early warning systems and has been making notable progress in advancing this work.
“The country engages in ambitious efforts, such as the development of ‘the Kenya Anticipatory Action Roadmap 2024–2029,’ and hosts key institutions including the IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC) which co-organized this event,” she said.
She said Kenya’s leadership role was reinforced by the designation of President William Ruto as the World Meteorological Organization Champion for the EW4All Initiative in Africa during the Africa Climate Summit in 2023.
“Let us therefore unite, collaborate, engage, and build an Early Warning System in Kenya that will reduce loss of life and livelihoods, bolster food security, and build a more resilient Kenya for generations to come,” she added.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Dr Stephen Jackson, reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations “to support a successful implementation of the initiative” and stressed the importance of the Early Warning Roadmap.
He said to strengthen inclusive early warning in the country, we will need to provide a platform to coordinate efforts, strengthen disaster governance, and enhance Kenya’s capacity for real-time monitoring and forecasting of natural hazards.
“The initiative will serve as a strategic guide to drive initiatives at both national and local levels, channel investments towards enhancing Early Warning Systems for more effective Disaster Risk Reduction and facilitate the seamless integration of comprehensive early warning mechanisms,” he said.
The launch was followed by a national workshop, taking place in Nairobi from May 21-23, which brought together national authorities, stakeholders, and international partners to develop an implementation roadmap for expanding the coverage and effectiveness of multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS).
By Anita Omwenga
