Kenya is confronting a growing drought threat that has already led to the loss of 2.6 million livestock valued at Sh232.6 billion, with Sh71 billion spent on emergency responses between 2021 and 2023, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has revealed.
The authority is pressing for more domestic funding in disaster risk reduction to enhance the nation’s readiness and limit further damage.
Felix Adoyo, Drought Resilience Director at NDMA, spoke on Friday at the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Day 2025 Symposium in Busia County, representing the agency’s CEO.
He stressed the country’s achievements in embedding drought management into national planning while calling for additional support to close the gap between potential risk and current preparedness levels.
Adoyo cited major steps already underway, including improved early warning systems, the Hunger Safety Net Programme, and the National Drought Emergency Fund (NDEF), all designed to strengthen Kenya’s response to recurring droughts.
He emphasized that arid and semi-arid counties, largely populated by pastoralists and farmers, are highly susceptible to rapid changes in rainfall. “These areas often shift quickly from stable conditions to severe drought when critical rainfall fails,” Adoyo said, highlighting the importance of proactive measures to safeguard livestock, crops, and livelihoods before crises escalate.
The warning follows forecasts from the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), which projects a high chance of below-normal rainfall for October–December 2025 in eastern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, parts of Somalia, and northern Tanzania.
ICPAC notes that this period is a key rainfall season, accounting for up to 70 percent of annual precipitation in some parts of the Horn of Africa.
Other regions, including south-western Ethiopia, north-western Kenya, central to northern Uganda, Rwanda, and western Burundi, are expected to see equal chances of below- or above-average rainfall.
Meanwhile, western Kenya, southern Uganda, much of Rwanda and Burundi, and north-western Tanzania are likely to record rainfall above 300 millimetres.
Temperatures are also expected to rise across much of the region, with warmer-than-average conditions forecast in eastern parts of the Greater Horn of Africa, while certain areas of Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya, along with sections of north-western Sudan, may experience average to slightly cooler temperatures.