By David Herbling | Updated on Oct 08, 2026 at 09:34 AM
Kenya plans to use emergency financing from the World Bank to provide subsidized fertilizer and seeds to farmers, supply clean water and boost supplies of essential medicines in the East African nation.
The authorities also earmarked the funds for cash transfers to crisis-affected poor and vulnerable households, according to documents published on the World Bank’s website . The proposal is scheduled to be approved on Thursday.
Kenya has established a so-called Contingent Emergency Response Project, a vehicle through which the Washington-based lender will channel the funds. The government expects to receive $400 million from World Bank emergency funding, according to the Treasury.
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The project is Kenya’s first under the Rapid Response Option that allows governments to redirect as much as 10% of undisbursed funds to respond to crises, including fallout from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the super El Niño weather phenomenon and the recently detected Ebola case.
“Kenya continues to experience recurrent shocks, including droughts, floods, disease outbreaks, rising commodity prices, and disruptions in global supply chains,” according to the documents.
The emergency funding “seeks to protect lives and livelihoods by strengthening emergency preparedness, improving access to essential services, and supporting sustainable recovery,” the bank said.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has resulted in higher fertilizer prices and reduced availability of the inputs, threatening agricultural production and household food security in Kenya which is already grappling with a failed corn crop and tight supplies of wheat and milk.
Kenya’s health system “remains vulnerable to shortages of essential medicines” and this may be exacerbated during emergency situations including disease outbreaks and flooding, according to the documents.
Health interventions include medicines, laboratory and diagnostic items to test for cholera, malaria, Rift Valley fever and Ebola, according to the disclosures.
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