NAIROBI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has secured 200 million U.S. dollars from the World Bank to help manage the impacts of climate and disaster risks.
Diarietou Gaye, World Bank Country Director, said the funding will enable Kenya to support crucial reforms that will fortify the country's ability to manage the impacts of disasters on the economy and the vulnerable.
"Extreme climatic events have long threatened development progress in Kenya, where 84 percent of the land is classified as arid or semi-arid, and where droughts and floods are estimated to cost the economy over 2 percent of GDP each year on average," Gaye said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
The lender said the Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Financing with Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO) will provide Kenya with rapid access to funding in the event of a disaster or public health emergency.
Gaye said the World Bank was working with the Treasury to help the government tackle economic losses triggered by climate-related disasters that often hamper poverty reduction efforts and threaten the numerous advances that Kenya has made in promoting shared prosperity.
She said the Cat DDO will support the government's proactive efforts to manage disaster and climate risks with a comprehensive program of reforms that will minimize the burden of economic recovery for Kenya.
"The Cat DDO will also support improvements in building the regulatory environment within Kenyan cities. With a growing concentration of population and assets in urban areas, the economic costs of natural hazards in Kenya are likely to increase in the future," said the World Bank.
Eric Dickson, World Bank Task Team Leader called on Kenya to implement regulatory reforms to manage the risks associated with the concentration of poor and vulnerable people living in unsafe structures and often in informal settlements.
"The Cat DDO will support policy reforms that fortify institutional and planning frameworks to strengthen resilience to disaster risks in Kenya," said Dickson.