The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) has approved a total of CHF 499,199 to support the Kenya Red Cross. The approved amount includes an allocation of CHF 135,978 for readiness and pre-positioning, as well as CHF 363,222 for early actions once the defined triggers are met. These allocations are made from the Anticipatory Pillar of the DREF, under the DREF appeal code MDR00001.

The purpose of the funding is to implement an Early Action Protocol (EAP), which is a tool designed to guide the timely and effective implementation of early actions informed by specific weather or climate forecasts and biophysical indicators predicting and/or indicating drought events. If such events materialize and no proper actions are in place, they have a high likelihood of generating a humanitarian crisis. The EAP is intended to avoid or minimize such crises by facilitating joint and timely action by the Government of Kenya at National and County level, communities at risk, stakeholders including the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), United Nations Agencies, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and Development Partners.

The EAP has been developed by the Kenya Red Cross Society in collaboration with the National Forecast-based Financing Technical Working Group (TWG), composed of key actors in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster management (DM). All stakeholders involved in this plan are members of the TWG and have a key role during the preparation and activation of the EAP.

The climate in Kenya ranges from tropical (in the coastal region) to arid (in the mountain regions), with two main rainy seasons: the March-April-May (MAM) “long rains” season and the October-November-December (OND) “short rains” season. Droughts in Kenya are not uncommon, as 80% of Kenya is composed of arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) with annual rainfall ranging from 200 to 500 mm resulting in periodic droughts that are part of the climate system. However, an intensification in both the length and severity of these events has been observed in the last few decades.

The impacts of drought are felt hardest in the agricultural sector, which is the backbone of Kenya's economy, contributing to food security, employment, and economic development of the country. According to UNDP (2012), the sector contributes 26% directly to the annual GDP and 26% indirectly through industries that feed from the sector, such as wholesale, retail sales, agro-based manufacturing, and transport. The sector also contributes 65% to total exports from the country and 16% to formal employment. The sector employs about 80% of the rural population who rely on small-scale subsistence farming, livestock rearing, and fishing.

Historically, droughts in Kenya have led to food insecurity, loss of livelihoods, crop failure, disease outbreaks, disruption of education, water scarcity, increased cattle rustling, and conflicts. The magnitude of these impacts has varied across different counties in Kenya, with high drought risk being in the Northern Kenya Counties of Turkana, Marsabit, Samburu, West pokot, Wajir, Mandera, and Tana River. Other counties in eastern and southern Kenya with relatively high risk include Narok, Makueni, and Kwale.

Unearmarked contributions to the DREF are encouraged to ensure enough funding is available for the Early Action Protocols being developed. The DREF appeal code MDR00001 will support the Kenya Red Cross in implementing the Early Action Protocol to reduce the impact of drought on vulnerable communities.