Turkana County Approves Sh600 Million Plan to Combat Drought
Lodwar, 11 September 2026
Turkana County has approved a Sh600 million investment for 28 water and agricultural projects to strengthen drought resilience and secure food supplies for local communities.
A Grassroots Approach to Climate Adaptation
On Wednesday, 9 September 2026, the Turkana County Steering Committee formally approved a capital-intensive annual investment plan under the Drought Resilience Programme in Northern Kenya (DRPNK) [1][2]. Comprising chief officers from crucial sectors including agriculture, water, health, education, livestock, trade, and roads, the committee is mandated to oversee these major infrastructure developments and ensure their long-term viability [2]. The approved funding of over KSh 600 million will be directed towards 28 targeted projects across four strategic clusters: Lodwar, Kakuma, Loima, and Kalokol [1][2]. To ensure that these investments align with actual grassroots needs, the County Programme Coordination Unit (CPCU) conducted a rigorous bottom-up survey of 135 potential sites across Turkana Central, Turkana West, and Loima sub-counties before finalising the selection through community ranking and validation [1][2].
Equitable Distribution Across the County
The final allocation of the 28 projects is strategically structured, distributing 10 projects to the Lodwar cluster, 10 to Loima, five to Kalokol, and three to Kakuma [1][2]. To ensure an equitable distribution of resources across all five constituent wards, the steering committee, chaired by Dr Michael Eregae (County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture, Livestock Development, and Fisheries), recommended reorganising select projects in the Lodwar and Kalokol clusters prior to the final national-level review [1][2]. These projects, which are scheduled to run until December 2027 when the current programme period concludes, represent a massive shift towards proactive, long-term climate-change adaptation rather than short-term emergency relief [1][2].
Shared Benefits for Host and Refugee Communities
The strategic allocation of these projects carries profound implications for the stabilization and security of the broader region, particularly for vulnerable populations [GPT]. By directing three specific projects to the Kakuma cluster—which hosts the Kakuma refugee camp and the nearby Kalobeyei integrated settlement—the programme directly addresses the shared resource pressures faced by both refugees and local host communities [1][2][GPT]. Turkana County, which spans a vast 77,000 square kilometres as Kenya’s second-largest county, has long grappled with the dual pressures of environmental hostility and hosting large displaced populations [2][GPT]. Enhancing local food supply chains and regional water resource management in these areas reduces friction over scarce resources, thereby improving security and stabilizing local pastoralist livelihoods [GPT].
Bilateral Funding and Strategic Oversight
Following the county-level approval, the project documentation will be advanced to the National Programme Coordination Unit and the Joint Programme Steering Committee, which includes county governors and the Principal Secretary, for final approval [1][2]. The DRPNK is a collaborative, bilateral initiative jointly funded by the German Financial Cooperation through the German Development Bank (KfW), and the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, alongside respective county governments [1][2]. Principal Secretary for Irrigation Ephantus Kim has actively engaged with regional leadership, including Marsabit Governor Mohamed Ali, to fast-track the national-level reviews of the Annual Investment Plan III (AIP III) and resolve administrative bottlenecks such as procurement and taxation [4].
Building on an Established Foundation
This financial year’s intervention builds upon an already established foundation of infrastructure in Northern Kenya [1][2]. Prior to this new phase, the programme had already initiated a total of 32 projects, of which 17 local resilience projects are completed and currently serving residents, while 15 others are in advanced stages of completion [1][2]. By scaling up water harvesting, storage, and irrigation infrastructure, the programme aims to provide sustainable, long-term climate-change adaptive capacity for pastoral and agropastoral communities across both Turkana and Marsabit counties [1][2][4].