Kenya has become the first African country to receive a significant payout from the Loss and Damage Fund for climate-related disasters, signalling positive steps in international support for vulnerable countries facing increasingly severe impacts of climate change.

The funding, provided under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Loss and Damage mechanism, goes to support countries with the economic cost of climate disasters (droughts, floods, heatwaves and cyclones). Kenya's access to these resources’ highlights growing international recognition of the disproportionate impact of climate change on countries with limited capacity to adapt.

The initial funding allocation, according to officials, will be leveraged to enhance Kenya's preparedness to climate shocks, and to instil resilience for communities already at risk from repeated droughts. The funds will support early warning systems, emergency response measures, and community adaptation and recovery programs.

Kenya's eligibility for support from the Loss and Damage Fund follows an assessment of its climate vulnerability and economic exposure to disasters. In recent years, the country has experienced several severe droughts that have not only reduced crops, but resulted in limited water resources and food insecurity among millions of people.

The funding was welcomed by the experts and by the policy makers as a crucial step towards an agenda for climate justice as set in other vulnerable countries in Africa and beyond. A climate policy specialist said that those nations that are experiencing the impacts of climate change are on the front lines without any significant financial support. This demonstrates the international community's commitment to supporting countries most affected by climate change.

The Loss and Damage Fund was established to provide financial assistance to countries suffering climate-related losses and damages outside of the mitigation and adaptation finance flows. It's designed to close historical funding gaps for climate-related disaster-affected countries before extremes, such as storms and droughts, wipe out lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.

The available initial payment for Kenya is quite small, when measured against the country's needs, but could pave the way for additional disbursements as more country’s complete eligibility assessments, observers said. Climate NGOs also emphasized the need to expand the Fund to help reach more communities who are facing climate shocks and need early help to rebuild and develop resilience strategies.