The World Bank and the Government of Kenya have committed Ksh13.5 billion to a groundwater project targeting five drought-prone counties as Kenya moves to strengthen water security in its arid and semi-arid regions.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The project will benefit Turkana, Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit and Garissa, with the investment aimed at developing reliable groundwater sources for households, livestock and public institutions.

The initiative is expected to reduce dependence on emergency water trucking during droughts while improving access to water for communities and supporting livelihoods that depend heavily on livestock and small-scale agriculture.

The project is also expected to create opportunities in borehole drilling, construction, solar pumping, pipeline installation and maintenance, while improving water supplies to schools, health facilities and other public institutions.

📌 What You Need to Know

The investment comes as some targeted counties continue to face drought stress, with the latest National Drought Management Authority assessment placing Mandera and Wajir in the Alarm phase and Turkana, Marsabit and Garissa in the Alert phase.

The situation follows three consecutive below-average rainy seasons between October and December 2024 , March and May 2025, and October and December 2025, leaving water sources and pasture with little time to recover from the severe drought experienced between 2020 and 2023.

Additionally, the prolonged dry conditions have had a direct impact on pastoral communities, with livestock losing body condition, milk production declining, and households being forced to sell animals or cope with livestock deaths.

Drought has also worsened food insecurity across the ASAL region , with millions of people requiring assistance as rising food prices, reduced household purchasing power, and declining livestock production affect access to adequate diets.

Children and other vulnerable groups face additional risks as drought reduces milk availability and increases exposure to malnutrition and water-related illnesses, while longer journeys to water points place an additional burden on households, particularly women and children.

Reliable watering points could help pastoralists reduce livestock losses and sustain their herds during dry periods, while suitable groundwater could support irrigation, fodder production and small-scale farming.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke